


Doom Desire

by TheAzureFox



Series: Of Wishes and War [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Denial, F/M, Golden Deer route woot, Timeskip, also, discontinued but has plot summary now and chapter 4 wip up, for those who love Mercedes I'm just gonna say sorry in advance, headcanons, i plan to do a spiritual remake to this, pre-release, relationships tba as they appear, slowburn, so look forward to that!!, which has moody timeskip Claude still and is still a slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-28
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2020-05-28 17:29:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 27,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19398958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAzureFox/pseuds/TheAzureFox
Summary: One moment, Byleth is celebrating with Claude on his graduation from the Garreg Mach Monastery. In the next, she finds him pointing an arrow at her throat, threatening murder if she doesn’t confess her crime.Tossed into a world five years from her present, Byleth faces the consequences of a future full of war.  The students she knows are now bloodthirsty soldiers, the Adrestian Empire and the Kingdom of Faergus are out to kill her, and the boy she once admired has grown into a leader cold and distant.What’s worse, however, are the mysterious entities that come creeping from the shadows. Monsters bearing cracked crests of power begin to haunt her, their strange presence only made more horrifying by the truth they possess…(F!Byleth x Claude)***REWRITEHERE***





	1. Prelude to Disaster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The starting point of a war to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fanfic archive for this fandom is at 74 fanfics as of this fanfic!! That's quite a big number of fanfics for a game that isn't even released yet but it makes me so happy to see all the love and support for this game *o*
> 
> For this project, I'm gonna be a _little_ ambitious and try to write a short longfic story that deals with some of my personal theories regarding the Golden Deer route, the timeskip + more on certain enemy mobs of interest (like clown gal, for example :>). 
> 
> Don't know how many chapters this will have but I'll probably stop writing for this when the game actually releases. For now, this will just be a project to keep me entertained until the game actually releases because I s2g I'm going insane with waiting a whole month for it ;w;

* * *

The night of graduation is a lively one.

Garreg Mach Monastery, known as a neutral territory to all and a school to some, is illuminated in celebration. Raucous laughter fills the halls and courtyards, the cheers of former students mixed with the cries of exuberant staff faculty. Even the local strays are out to partake, cats meandering on rooftops, dogs running in-between legs, and owls perching atop brick walls to join in on the excitement.

As Byleth travelled through the monastery, picking her way through cobbled walkways and stone pillars, she couldn’t help but bask in the excitement of the night. Former students wearing red and blue were clinking glasses together, their murmurs of ecstasy punctuated by giggles and lively antics. Some had even taken a moment to wave at Byleth, greeting her with grins before moving back on to discussions at hand.

“Such a lively crowd,” Byleth muses.

Drinking in the lightness of the atmosphere, the teenage professor can’t help but smile. The cheerfulness of the occasion is a far cry from the quiet murmurs of the week before, earning a sense of liveliness to an atmosphere previously full of forebode and hopelessness.

“Lively indeed.” A girl materializes next to Byleth, hands behind her back as she skips forward. “You would hardly guess that anyone within this monastery was a trained soldier.”

Byleth looks at her. “Did you come to join the festivities, Sothis?”

“No.” The girl shakes her head. “I’m merely here to observe.” Sothis’s lips stretch into a mocking smile. “After all, this will be the last night you’ll get to see your precious students.”

“It won’t be the last night. Even if they go home tomorrow, I’m still allowed to visit the Leicester Alliance whenever I want to.”

“So I take it that you’re going to stay in this drab monastery instead?”

“I might as well,” Byleth gives a shrug at Sothis’s puzzled glance. “I’ve been asked to stay here and continue teaching. I figured I might as well stick around for a couple of years. It’s not a bad life.”

“Got tired of being a mercenary, huh?” Sothis skips a few steps forwards and then pauses. “Well, I suppose you would be. You never seemed cut out for following in your father’s footsteps.”

The teal-haired girl scowls at her companion. “You say it like it’s an insult.”

“It is, there’s no denying that.” Sothis looks over at Byleth. “Furthermore, I do believe there’s more to it than that. You’re probably afraid, no? Of the possibility of turning on your former students. If you teach here in neutral territory then you can avoid drawing your blade against them.”

“Clever girl.”

“I try.”

They stroll in silence as a group of boys decked in blue pass by. Among them, Byleth recognizes Felix of the Blue Lions. The black-haired boy passes her a courtesy glance, nodding his head in dutiful respect before carrying on with a tale about Dimitri. She waits for him and his group to go before speaking to Sothis.

“I do think I’ll miss them, though.”

“You’re such a sap.”

“But I’m being serious.” Byleth smiles. “I rather like my students. They’re all so talented and they’ve grown so much I can’t help but admire them.”

“ _Saaaaap_.” Sothis snickers and the girl huffs in response. “You’re so soft for them it hurts. I bet you’re even softer for that favorite student of yours.”

“Which favorite student?” Byleth blinks at her. “I have no favorite students.”

The deity that lives within her mind gives her an exasperated glance. “I’m talking about that dreamy boy of yours who’s always by your side. That playful prankster who leads an army full of gold and who sucks up to you whenever he can.”

“Claude doesn’t do that.”

The girl claps her hands in glee. “ _Aha_. So you _do_ admit it.”

“Admit what?”

“That you have a favorite student.”

“Claude is _not_ my favorite.”

Sothis side-eyes her. “Yet I seem to recall you paying special attention to him numerous times on the battlefield. You also seem to care about him more than others, always protecting him and coddling him too. Hell, I’ve seen you be flattered more than once by that silver tongue of his.”

“And you have seemed to form a biased opinion on the topic at hand. I don’t treat him any differently than I do the other students.”

“Say what you like: I only see denial.” Sothis giggles at the glare sent her way. “Believe me, Byleth. I’m no fool. I may have lost my memories, but I know a cherished relationship when I see one. And you, my dear, cherish that boy very much.”

“Ugh. You’re being unreasonable.”

“Say what you like-” Sothis pauses, closing her eyes midway through the conversation before snapping them open to beam at Byleth. “Speak of the divine goddess and she will appear before you. Here Claude comes now.”

Byleth raises her eyebrows, almost considering Sothis’s words a prank, when the sound of footsteps reaches her and she’s left scurrying to look normal. She takes up the posture of someone peering in curiosity at nearby rose bushes, fingers caressing red petals as if to divert from the fact she’d been talking to a divine deity moments ago.

“Teach!”

The deep tone of a familiar voice reaches her and Byleth tries to look surprised as Claude steps into view. The boy is still dressed in the golden cape of the graduation ceremony, wearing it with pride as he steps towards her.

“Claude,” she greets. “What brings you here?”

Sothis gives a glance to Byleth, their gazes meeting enough for Byleth to see her roll her eyes. Then, the girl waves goodbye and melts into the air, dissipating like steam.

“I was looking for you,” the boy says, coming to a halt in front of her. “The others were getting antsy.”

She notices the slight layer of sweat staining his skin and raises her eyebrows. “I’m not late, am I? I thought I still had time to get there.”

“You’re not late,” Claude assures. “But everyone else was getting impatient so they sent me to find you.”

“I see,” she places a hand to her chin and nods. “Well then, I guess I should hurry up then.”

The boy nods in reciprocation before turning his gaze to the rose bushes in front of her. His face softens, eyes following the way her fingers linger on flowers bleeding in crimson. “They’re beautiful,” he says.

She looks at him. “The roses?”

“Yes.” Claude grabs the one settled underneath her hand, pinching it at its stem to remove it from its home. He holds it in his fingers, twirling it back and forth, before looking at her with a strange light in his eyes. “Teach, have you ever worn a rose before?”

“No.” Byleth shakes her head. “Though, I have seen other women wear them. The fake ones of course. Quite a few of the staff are wearing some now, I believe. To celebrate the occasion, of course.”

“And what did you think of them? Of those people wearing those roses?”

“They look pretty,” she admits.

“Then, Teach, how about you wear one too?”

Claude reaches up a hand to her left ear, hesitating for a few seconds. Waiting, pausing, watching. Then, he brushes a strand of hair away from her left ear, slipping the rose’s stem in the crook of it. The leather of his gloves is soft against her skin, kind and gentle and emitting a kind of warmth that has her tingling.

“It looks good on you,” Claude says, removing his hand to admire his handiwork.

The boy grins and it’s the kind of grin that lights up the world. Even the radiance of nearby lanterns can’t compare to such luminance, paling in comparison to the warmth of the boy’s smile.

Byleth reaches up to touch the rose, admiring its velvet sensation even more than before against the feel of her hair. “Thank you, Claude. I like it very much.”

Her words make him brim to the point of beaming, his hands jumping forward to clasp onto hers. He pulls her with him, taking her along like a pebble in a current. “Come on Teach,” he says, voice fluttering in that singsong way of his, “we need to get going.”

Byleth nods. “Then lead the way.”

* * *

Claude leads her to the gazebo located in the middle of the southern courtyard. Long hedges groomed into shape form a square that surrounds cobbled walkways, a fountain of Seiros sitting peacefully by the gazebo at hand. The water of such a device glistens in the light of lanterns left floating by magic, sparkling with a hum that barely calls attention to one’s ears. Sitting by the fountain and by tables set in place already, are a group of golden-caped students whose gazes turn to Byleth with glee.

“Teacher!” The first to greet her is Leonie, the orange-haired girl bouncing to attention as she holds a glass of red liquid in her hands. “You’re here!”

“I was hoping to see you, professor,” Lysithea adds with a curtsy.

“We were getting worried,” Lorenz joins in, holding out a pocket watch and snapping it shut. “Even though you are five minutes and thirty-three milliseconds early, this whole frabble wouldn’t stop fretting about your inevitable demise.”

Hilda begins to grumble. “More like _Claude_ wouldn’t shut up about- _agh_!”

Marianne elbows the pink-haired girl and fidgets with her golden graduation cape under Byleth’s gaze. “Pleasure to see you again, teacher. I imagine this is the last time we’ll be seeing each other, correct?”

“It is, I’m afraid. I plan to stay at the monastery from now on. But,” Byleth smiles, “rest assured. I’ll come visit the alliance whenever I can.”

“We’ll look forward to it,” Ignatz pipes. “Even if we’re busy, we’ll be sure to come see you too!”

“And if not us, our dear leader certainly will,” Raphael grins at Claude, elbowing the younger boy.

Claude huffs, a hand on his hip before he turns to Byleth. “ _We_ will definitely come and visit you whenever the need appears. We might be busy while working under the alliance but we’ll try to pay a visit. After all, we can’t keep our dear teacher too lonely, right?”

There’s a murmur of agreement from those formerly of the Golden Deer house. Byleth feels a flush of warmth spread though her, the atmosphere of liveliness brightening the world around her.

“I hope you don’t plan on monopolizing Teacher.”

A voice cuts through the air and the group spins around in surprise to find Edelgard approaching. At her side is Dimitri, the blond-haired boy giving a nod of his head as he follows the girl’s lead. Behind them, familiar students draped in capes of red and blue stand watching, mingling amongst themselves as they become spectators to the occasion.

Claude jumps forward to greet them, his shoulder resting against Byleth’s own as he stands in place. “I’m not at all monopolizing her,” he says, bumping his elbow against the girl beside him. “Right, Teach?”

“Indeed,” she dips her head to Edelgard and Dimitri. “Feel free to visit me whenever you like here at the monastery.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Dimitri nods before looking over at his companion. “You?”

Edelgard gives a bow. “If you’ll have me, Teacher, there’s nothing more I can ask for.”

“Of course.” Byleth smiles at the two of them and they return it with brilliance in their eyes.

There’s another fluster of warmth in the atmosphere, the thrill of liveliness and celebration, when Claude brushes her hand with his own and then stares at the other leaders-to-be. “May I ask why you’re here? Surely you two haven’t come to jest with Teach?”

Edelgard frowns at the use of the word _jest_ but nods her head regardless. “I was thinking about the future. I wanted to discuss it with both you and Dimitri here so I’ve come personally to ask a request. Will you hear me out?”

A murmur from the former Golden Deer students causes Claude to look intrigued. “If Dimitri’s already agreed to it I guess I’m in. So, what’s this about?”

Edelgard takes in a breath. She closes her eyes, releases the air from her body, and then opens her eyes to stare at her audience in turn as she speaks. “Let’s all agree to meet back at the monastery here five years from now.”

Her words send the graduated students accompanying each party into a frenzy. The Blue Lions peer at the Golden Deer. The Golden Deer glance at the Black Eagles. The Black Eagles look between the groups and seem just at a loss for words as the other two.

Dimitri steps forward to peer at the girl. “Like a class reunion?” He asks.

She turns to him, her gaze softening just the slightest bit. It’s the kind of expression that speaks volumes of respect, one punctuated by passion and appreciation and an edge of kindness that lingers forever onwards. Somehow, the way Edelgard looks at Dimitri reminds Byleth of the way Claude looks at her. It’s the same expression the gold-caped boy wears on days when there is nothing better to do than stare at the moon, the kind of expression that states a perfect sensation of comfort in one's presence.

The red-caped girl continues. “You will come, won’t you?” Edelgard asks him, before ripping her gaze away to stare at Claude and Byleth.

“I’m in,” the dark-skinned boy nods. “How ‘bout you, Teach?”

“Of course.”

Edelgard turns to Dimitri. The boy’s ears turn pink as he responds. “I-I would be happy to.”

“And everyone else?” Edelgard sweeps her gaze across their murmuring crowd of spectators. When no opposition is raised, she claps her hands together and smiles. “Well then. I expect to see you all five years from now. May Seiros give us her blessings.”

They repeat her words out of rhetoric. “May Seiros give us her blessings.”

She nods her head to Claude and Dimitri, performing the semblance of a curtsy with the ends of her red cape. Both boys bow in return and she gives a look of satisfaction. She turns to her fellow house-mates, ushering them away. Dimitri does the same with his, leaving the gazebo occupied only in gold.

“Well, that was exciting,” Hilda steps forwards, watching two rivers of blue and red flee from the scene. “A class reunion, huh?”

“It gives us something to look forward to, I guess,” Leonie steps by the girl’s side and shrugs.

Ignatz pushes up his glasses. “I wouldn’t mind it so much,” the boy says. “It means I’d get a chance to meet up with Mercedes.”

“ _Ooo_ , does someone have a crush?” Hilda snickers at Ignatz’s face bursting red, slinging an arm around him.

“I-I do not! She is just…really kind and knows a lot. There’s no way I couldn’t think a lot about someone like her.”

A few whistles sounds from the crowd. Ignatz glowers at his peers, a hand held up to fidget with his glasses. Byleth watches in amusement as Claude makes a show of exasperation, rolling his eyes in that knowing way of his. She reciprocates by lightly elbowing him and he laughs in return.

“If we’re on the topic of girls,” Lysithea adds with pink on her face. “I would have to say that Ingrid of Faergus is pretty cute.”

Lorenz sweeps in. “Ugh. I prefer women with taste. A women with style, elegance, and posh! A lady like Marianne, of course, whose royal tastes know no bounds.”

“You’re cute,” Marianne says in return, pressing a shy kiss to the boy’s cheek. Lorenz flushes a bright red, earning a grin from everyone present.

“How about you, leader?” Leonie looks to Claude and then to Byleth. “Or what about you, teacher? Got anyone in mind?”

Claude holds up his arms in the gesture of a nonchalant shrug. “My type is peculiar,” he says. “I love girls who are respectable and passionate about what they do. They have to be good with a sword and good with a tome but aren’t afraid of the love of an arrow. They’ve got to be kind and with a sense of justice. I definitely have to trust them too. Deep trust is _important_ in a relationship, after all.” Claude ends his speech with a glance in Byleth’s direction. She smiles in return and doesn’t miss the way he brightens.

“You literally sound as if you’re describing every female lord in the history books,” Hilda comments with a roll of her eyes. When Claude offers up nothing more than a scowl, she frowns. “ _Seiros_ , you’re no fun. Let’s hear from someone else then. Byleth? What’s your ideal type?”

“Uh,” she flushes, “um, well, I guess I’m like Claude in that regard. I’d like someone who is kind, respectful, and trustworthy. I’m not sure if I care if they’re good at fighting but as long as I like them I think it’s good? Liking people is just as important too in my mind.”

Raphael leans in. “You gotta be more specific,” the man says, “how about someone brave and cunning? A boy your age who knows how to lead and is cool and amazing? Wouldn’t someone like that be great to date?”

The man’s gaze flickers over to Claude. She half expects to see the boy glowering but when Byleth follows his eyes all she can see is Claude watching her in anticipation. “Well,” she says, suddenly under the impression she should choose her words carefully, “I wouldn’t be opposed to it? However, that kind of person seems like they’d already have someone on their minds by now, you know? Even if they're my type, I know I wouldn't have a chance with them.”

Hilda snorts. “How _dumb_ are you teach-hey, _ow!_ Leonie, that _really_ _hurts_ y’know!”

The orange-haired girl shakes her head. “Forgive her, teacher. She simply doesn’t know what she’s talking about _._ ”

A glare directed in Hilda’s direction keeps the pink-haired girl quiet. Byleth laughs quietly at the sight, thinking the awkward conversation surpassed. However, much to her disappointment, Claude picks up where Raphael left off.

“So. Teach.” The boy leans forward. “If someone like that were to ask you out right now, would you say yes?”

Byleth eyes the future leader of the Golden Deer. A strange twinkle gleams in his eyes, something sparkling with youth and passion. The boy has something akin to a hopeful expression on his face, facial features twisted in that optimistic way of his as he holds his arms at his side and watches.

“It depends,” she says, watching that twinkle in his eyes grow dimmer, “I think I would have to know them first. If someone I didn’t know asked me out right now, I wouldn’t know what to think. Is that too weird?”

The twinkle in Claude’s eyes diminishes completely. The color of his skin becomes sucked out, brown fading to gray. The gold of his cape becomes a silver color, losing its luster as the boy’s expression fades to an endless display of anticipation.

“Claude?”

The boy doesn’t respond. Doesn’t move. Doesn’t blink.

She tries again. “Hey? Claude?”

Her hand goes on his shoulders. He doesn’t react. Just keeps staring straight ahead. Byleth frowns, turning her attention from him to Hilda to Lorenz to Marianne. They don't respond, standing like statues in a graveyard of time.

“Guys? Why aren’t you responding to me?”

She looks at Raphael and Ignatz and Lysithea and Leonie. They stare back, wearing curiosity on their faces like a never-ending mask. 

“What’s happening?”

Static rubs the air, pricking at her skin. Her stomach drops, pinched with a sense of shuddering fear.

“ _Byleth_.”

A gasping sound calls to the girl’s attention. Color materializes in front of her, greens and reds and whites forming the appearance of Sothis. The girl is clutching at her throat, the ribbons strapped around her wrists waving wildly around her.

“Sothis? Sothis!” Byleth runs to her side, bending down on her knees to place her hands on the girl’s shoulders. “What’s going on?”

“Time…” The girl struggles to breathe. Her voice is no more than a muted whisper, wheezing replacing the casual calm of her normal voice. “The Divine Pulse it’s…it’s out of control.”

“What? But it’s never…let me see if I can do something.” Byleth stands up, readying her hands before her to call on the wheels of time. However, before she can utter a word, Sothis grabs at her legs and shakes her head.

“You cannot. Time…is fighting me. Your power…is my power. If it is...fighting me, it will not work for you.”

“Is there something I can do? Anything?”

Sothis clutches at her throat, her eternally white skin becoming bruised with reddened purple. The girl writhes under the pressure of whatever is affecting her, voice no longer operating as she collapses on gray grass.

_Tick._

The sound of a clock sounds. Byleth stiffens.

She knows that sound, the sound of the Divine Pulse in use.

“Who’s there?”

_Tock._

“Save them.”

_Tick._

The call of a voice strikes directly into Byleth’s brain.

_Tock._

“Save who?”

_Tick. Tock._

The sound of a clock grows faster.

“Save them, child of the flames.”

_Tick._

_Tock._

"I don't understand."

_Tick. Tock._

"This doesn't make sense! Whoever is doing this, you need to st-"

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Ticktockticktockticktock-_

Byleth is washed away in a wave of time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is where the true fun begins :>


	2. Monster in the Woods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Byleth reunites with her students. Sort of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~Fun fact: This chapter is 18 pages in Microsoft Word and in size 12 font. I would have loved to write more for this chapter but, as you can already tell, it's pretty long already so I've decided against it. I do feel regretful though that I can't make it any longer without possibly pushing this up to 30 plus pages...~~
> 
> I actually had to rewrite this chapter because my first attempt at it was, ah, unrealistic and frankly as OOC as OOC can get. That being said, this chapter was a challenge to write, if only because I've had to be more careful about how I introduce my ideas in the context of "canon". Setting things up for the future and making sure everything flows realistically has been a pain for this chapter but hopefully I've done it well enough to be convincing...
> 
> That said, this chapter is essentially where that slowburn tag begins. It's not prominent here but it's definitely gonna happen soon, just you wait ;)

* * *

When Byleth awakes, it’s not in the middle of a graduation party.

Rather, she awakes in the middle of a forest. One with cinnamon colored trees, a white fog creeping across soggy dirt, and a cluttered undergrowth that prevents her from seeing more than ten feet ahead. Above her, a canopy of needles blocks her view of the sky, shrouding her in a world of secrets as she collects herself.

“Where is this?” She asks, wincing as she feels her mind thrash in anger. “No, I recognize those trees. This must be…in the territory of the Leicester Alliance.”

Byleth pulls herself into a sitting position. Pain hurts her everywhere it could hurt, gnawing on her skin, her brain, her hands, her bones, her feet, her eyes and many other places throughout her body. It makes her feel as if she’s dying, misery stifling her as she crawls her way to a standing position.

Leaning against a tree trunk for support, she clutches at her sides and tries to clear her eyes of haziness. “What happened? Let’s see, the last thing I remember is…uh…it was…”

Her head hurts. It hurts a lot. It’s torturing her, eating away at her bit by bit. However, she can’t let it bother her. Byleth needs to remember, needs to find answers in any way she can. Yet, her mind seems to protest this notion, hissing and snarling and fighting against her desires like a caged beast. She flinches at the claws it rakes against the back of her skull and then pushes on.

“Remember,” she says, to herself, to her mind, to the forest around her, “I must remember. Why am I here?”

She shouldn’t be in the territory of the Leicester Alliance. The students of Golden Deer had already graduated. She had no business in the place, not anymore. Even if Claude had promised she could come and visit whenever she wanted, she wasn’t about to abuse his trust in her to come as she pleased.

Wait.

Graduation…the Golden Deer…a party…a leader draped in gold and a girl who lives inside her-

“Sothis!” Byleth jolts away from the tree and falls to her knees. The pain of needles sticking into her skin makes her cry out, tears pricking at her eyes despite herself. “Sothis! Are you here?”

The girl who calls herself a god does not respond.

Somehow, that realization makes Byleth heart shatter in fear.

All alone, the girl is left to contemplate in the paranoia of her irrationality.

“Sothis can’t be dead…right?” She closes her eyes, shouting: “Sothis, stop playing with me! Show yourself! I need your guidance!”

She is met with silence. Byleth bites at the tip of her nail, her misery giving way to fear and nausea.

“Calm down, Byleth,” she tells herself. “Let’s start from the beginning.”

The girl retraces the memories where everything went wrong. Claude’s strange question, the world turning to black and white before her, Sothis suffocating and clutching at her own throat, a mysterious voice and the noise of the Divine Pulse in use…

What was it that voice had said?

“Save them, child of the flames”?

What did _that_ mean?

Byleth holds out a hand, summoning her crest into view. It is of a pattern ancient and archaic, of a glowing rune mysterious and enigmatic. The crest was known as the Crest of Flames and, perhaps, it was her only link to what those words had meant. If she was to assume the strange speaker’s words were meant for her, that she was the child of the flames…then what did saving “them” mean? Who was she supposed to save?

She vanquishes her crest from sight, leery of its presence. In its absence, she manifests the Sword of the Creator before her, borrowing its power as she slashes it across the air.

“I order thee, heal this body and release me of my pain.”

The incantation flows through her mouth and she watches as a red light flees from the strange sword. The crimson light surrounds the entirety of her body, seeping into her skin and releasing a sense of euphoria inside her. She releases a sigh, slumping slightly as the burden of her headache fades away into something more tolerable.

Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t bother to perform healing spells on herself. Magic was incredibly hard to control and even harder to use on one’s self. It often required a conductor like tomes or staves to be performed, neither of which Byleth owned.

However, by some miracle, the sword that Byleth owned allowed for minor magic spells. She wasn’t quite sure how it worked – only that the power of the sword was great and far beyond her understanding – but it was enough that she could rely upon its powers in times of desperation.

And this, definitely, was a time of desperation.

Unfortunately, the use of magic left her healed but exhausted. She was no longer suffering from a headache but, on the other hand, she was suffering from a sudden case of fatigue and sleepiness.

“Now,” she mutters, thinking, hoping, “if the Divine Pulse was used, I must be in the past.” Byleth plunges her sword into the grown and leans upon it, fingers drumming on its golden hilt. “If Sothis were here, she’d surely know how far in the past I am but…”

She pauses, trying yet again to reach out to the girl. However, no words she says are able to bring Sothis back to her. No matter how much she flatters the girl or curses her out, Sothis doesn’t reappear before her.

It worries Byleth. She’s never known the girl to be so silent. Even in her times of coldness, Sothis was always eager to appease Byleth’s sense of loneliness. The girl was as much a companion as she was a nuisance, always residing in Byleth’s mind like a bird nesting in roof rafters. She wasn’t so easily gotten rid of: especially not when she went around claiming Byleth owed her a great debt.

Byleth remembers an image of Sothis clutching at her throat and winces.

“Bad thoughts, bad thoughts.” Byleth clears her mind of the image. “If you can’t depend on Sothis you’ve got to _focus_ , Byleth.”

She takes a survey of the land around her. Everywhere she looks, there are trees and bushes. The world before her is so densely packed in them that she can hardly tell her right from her left and her north from her south. It doesn’t help that the entire forest is plunged into silence, leaving her alone to try and understand the impossible situation before her.

If she is in Leicester Alliance territory – as she most certainly is, due to the presence of cinnamon-colored trees that are only native to Leicester forests – then she can only be in one of two places. Those trees were only present in two areas in the world: the Ashen Woods and Chrom’s Sanctuary.

Byleth had been to each places in turn but, to be honest, both forests looked the same to her. Forests were like that sometimes: just one big ball of green stuff mixed with plain ol’ dirt.

Still, she had to find _some_ identifying landmark that would send her on her way back. Even if one was lost, looking for a source of familiarity would easily set her in the right direction.

That was something Claude had taught her, once, when they were out camping in Adrestian territory. Unlike her, who failed to have a sense of reasonable direction, Claude was a _whiz_ at navigation. More than once she’d found herself under his tutelage as she worked her way around Leicester territory. He was always patient to her when he gave such lessons, taking on his role as student-turned-navigation-teacher with pride. It always amused Byleth greatly to see how much he honored his false title, especially since it got to the point that she teased him so much for it.

“Claude…”

She thinks of the black-haired boy and wears at her lip. No doubt her sudden disappearance would be throwing him for a loop. The boy had a bad habit of worrying himself to death if something happened to her. Albeit, he’d probably up to his arms in denial if she called him out on it. He was like that sometimes: eager to worry about her but never too eager to admit he was ever concerned about her in the first place.

If he was here now, however, she was certain that he’d provide his shoulder to lean on. The boy was as kind as his tongue was flattering, always open to lending an ear and soothe away her worries.

Honestly, she didn’t know what she’d ever done to deserve such loyalty from him, but it made her happy regardless. It was nice, the relationship they had together. In some ways, she liked being looked up to, liked being seen as a comrade-in-arms and a important person in someone else’s life. It made her feel loved, as cliché as that sounded.

Still…

Trudging through a forest, her feet snagging on roots and her skin being cut by thorns, Byleth has little time to dwell on thoughts of Claude or his benevolent presence. If she wants to make it out of her surroundings, she must _focus._

To find her way out of a forest, she must identify landmarks. To identify landmarks, she needs to know them.

For Chrom’s Sanctuary, a site of wildlife preservation, she’d be looking for a silver fence as tall as two wyverns and from there she’d search for watch towers. The watch towers would contain people. Then, those people would bring her to civilization. Civilization meant knowing where she was. It also meant being able to contact her students and tell them exactly where she was. From there, she’d either grab a ride or wait for her students to come and fetch her. The first option was preferable but, knowing how dangerous the plains beyond Chrom’s Sanctuary were without an army alongside her, waiting in the comfort of the watch towers was smarter.

For the Ashen Woods, she must search for a patch of woodland scraped by fire. Trees charred black by combusting heat and ground scorched by hungry flames would be a major identifying factor to the type of forest she was in. And, to top it off, there was a prosperous village that lived on such barren grounds, selling off charcoal and potions made from burnt remains for a profit nigh unimaginable. If she could get there, she’d be able to get in contact with Ignatz’s parents. From there, she might able to borrow a horse or dragon to return to the monastery.

Still, until she finds that scorched landscape or that silver fence lined with watch towers, Byleth doesn’t have a chance in hell of finding civilization. Everything looks the same to her: the trees, the rocks, the grass, the needles up above. Yet, if she doesn’t keep moving, she doesn’t know what will befall her when she stops. Bandits and monsters likely roam whichever woods she’s set foot into. And, she doesn’t want to take a chance with them if she can avoid it.

However…

“It’s strange,” Byleth notes, staring up at the canopy of needles hanging above her, “I should’ve come across something by now.”

Even if this forest was truly Chrom’s Sanctuary – a place meant to be abandoned by humans – that didn’t mean the forest wasn’t teeming in life. Forests were like that: a place of hospitality to monsters and animals alike. Even in the dead of night Byleth would be remiss to experience a silence quite like this. It was an unnatural silence, one that crept by her jumpy toes and threatened to coil around her until she couldn’t breathe.

What could possibly make a forest such as this fall so still? Even monsters like rocs or wyrms had trouble silencing the world quite like this. It makes Byleth’s paranoia flare up, makes her draw her sword in front of her and beckon to an invisible enemy like she expects to be attacked at any moment.

However, what she doesn’t expect is the low sound of a creaking gate that comes from the stretch of forest behind her.

The hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Suddenly, she can feels eyes nestling upon her, wheedling their way into her skin as she whirls around.

“Show yourself!”

Something rustles to her right and she turns to face it. She catches a glimpse of burning silver, a flash of two white dots in a blanket of black.

Byleth steadies her breath. _Don’t panic. Focus._ She holds her sword before her, letting it glow with red light as she tries to pinpoint the source of her alarm.

From behind her, a low-pitched whine sounds in the shade of the trees. It reminds her of the call of coyote when the night is still young, the sound of a pack looking for a kill to eat. Except, the sound of this creature is warped and distorted, its voice reminiscent of something otherworldly and dangerous.

_A monster._

Suddenly, Byleth feels nausea burn in her stomach. She’s all alone. A monster is here, right in front of her, and she has no one else to accompany her. Monsters were not hard to defeat: not normally, anyways. With a well-trained army, it would take only minutes to defeat such a beast. With only herself, it would likely take hours or even days. In other words, time she did not have.

Behind her the bushes rumble. Byleth spins on her heels, sword readied for a fight, when a blur of silver rushes out and swipes at her. The girl reels, barely able to dodge in time as the thing crashes by her.

And, wow, is it a _big_ thing.

Steadying itself on its hind legs, a humanoid creature made from plated scales stands over her. The monster is as tall as three wyverns combined, standing above the forest like a giant. Still, Byleth has no time to find herself in awe as it slams its clawed hands down upon the ground.

She rolls away from the blow, trying to steady herself against the trembling ground and finding refuge in the limbs of a tree. The monster is cunning however, and it turns to stare at her, red eyes appearing from its face of wiry bone.

“ _Shhhhhhhhreeeee.”_

The creature cocks its head, spitting its mouth open to reveal white teeth and a long, treacherous tongue. Saliva drips from its gums, its red eyes bleeding in madness as it lunges at her.

Byleth jumps, but it is not enough. A broken tree branch scratches her cheek and she can feel the breath of warmth on her skin as she falls to the ground. She wipes her palm against her cheek, ignoring the way her black gloves are darkened in blood, and readies her sword.

The monster swings again, but this time she is prepared. She jumps over the blow of its hands and aims for its shoulder. Her sword clinks off the creature’s armor, sending her back to the ground with teeth wearing into her lips.

“Even my sword can’t cut through its skin.” She swings her weapon to the side, elongating it out into a chain. The Sword of the Creator glows red and she calls upon it to cast a minor magic spell. “Hear my call! I ask thee to smite my enemy and take down their defense. Let them feel the pain of my blade lest I feel that pain first! Creation of Offense!”

A red glow overtakes the beast, causing it to shrink away. The creature opens its mouth, letting loose a scream, before it charges at her. She curls her lips, leaping up and using its shoulders to clamber to its head. However, the beast is smart, bashing its head against a nearby rock in order to rid itself of her.

Byleth cries out, her left shoulder caught in the attack. A dazzling pain overcomes her, making her see stars in her eyes before she recovers to see the monster looming over her.

“ _Ssssheeee_.”

The creature looms over her, its tongue creeping out of its mouth as it stares at her. Byleth watches it in turn, holding its gaze as she uses her peripheral vision to determine a get-away plan.

However, whatever plan that comes to mind is instantly demolished when the creature draws its hands on either side of her, blocking her paths of exit as it leans in…saliva oozing from its mouth, eyes looking rather hungry and…

Byleth swallows.

Her throat makes a _ping_ sound.

Or, rather, an arrow appearing from out of nowhere makes a _ping_ sound. It doesn’t do anything; in fact, Byleth’s almost certain the monster is completely unharmed. However, it’s not the damage that counts but the distraction.

The monster rears, spinning around. It lets out a roar, charging forward to slap at a half-broken tree. From above its claws comes a black shape, the form of a person stepping onto the top of the thing’s head before retreating into the forest.

“ _Yyyyyoooooouuuu.”_

From behind the creature comes two more shapes. Silver swords glint with magic, striking the beast across the back. The newcomers then disappear into the trees with their leader, fading into nonexistence as the creature looks around.

Taking advantage of the creature’s distraction, Byleth props herself up against the rock behind her and begins to move away. She lets her footsteps fall quietly on the ground, sneaking away to seek refuge in the undergrowth.

Such a plan goes up in flames when the earth trembles before her and she’s scooped up into the air by the thing. She flails, whirling around for something to grapple as she tumbles down towards the creature’s waiting mouth, when a flash of gold appears from the trees. Strong hands grip at her, the force of their momentum together allowing them to tumble together on a patch of grass just feet away. The mere impact of such a movement however, causes Byleth to lose her breath, body stunned into obedience as the shadow of savior leans over her.

In that moment, with her mind trying to catch up in processing the events of the occasion, she smells the scent of cinnamon. It’s a pungent scent, one mixed with that of sweat, yet its familiar taste leaves Byleth completely at ease.

“You can’t die just yet.”

She looks up, twisting her face to catch a glimpse of her savior, but all she can see is the flash of a gold cape as he disappears behind her.

Struggling to a standing position, her legs wobbling and her arms like jelly, she stands, gaze tossed to the battlefield. Ahead of her, having successfully captured the beast’s attention after Byleth’s failure to avoid it, is a white-haired girl. She is performing a magic spell while standing on the ground, unleashing binding coils of golden light that chain the monster in place.

Byleth watches in amazement, recognizing that confident pose and the magic that runs from her hands. She knows that girl, knows the name of the student who blasts at the monster with a Cyclone spell.

“Lysithea,” she breathes, relief flooding through her as she watches the girl cast her spells.

Alongside Lysithea follows a girl with pink hair. That girl wields a sword, slashing at the monster without fear in her steps. The way she twirls and spins, moving as if she was a dancer in the wind, reminds Byleth of her student, Hilda.

Which meant…if Lysithea and Hilda had come to her aid, than the person who had saved her was…

Byleth shakes her head. She can’t entertain “what-ifs” in the middle of a battle. No, rather, she needs to partake in it. Even if her body is still weakened from her scuffle with the creature, it is against her belief that her students should be fighting such a thing alone. So, even as her left shoulder screams at her to stop, she joins the battle, sword glowing red as she attacks the monster.

It whirls around on her, tail flicking away Lysithea and Hilda, and raises a hand to attack her, yet again out to get her when-

The sound of flapping wings fills the air and a pegasus rider descends into the arena.

Byleth watches, pausing herself as a boy atop a pegasus raises his lance, curling his lips as he drives forward to stab at the monster. However, before he can do so, the monster backs away. It shrinks in the boy’s presence - perhaps sensing the way it was outnumbered - and turns away to flee.

“Coward!” A deep voice shouts after it, the kind of voice a boy should not possess. “ _You fucking coward!_ ”

Hilda and Lysithea turn their heads to watch as the pegasus rider rears, preparing to take off, when Lysithea summons chains of light and drags the man and his pegasus to the ground.

“Let me go! Let me go after that monster! I need to kill it! I need to-!”

Hilda pats the man's shoulder, speaking in a voice rich with age. “Igz, I understand your pain. However, if you want to vent your anger, I suggest you do it with _her_.”

Hilda turns to stare at Byleth, as do Lysithea and the pegasus rider. Byleth looks at them in turn, her gaze meeting theirs as she tries to follow their train of conversation with confusion.

“You guys found me,” she says, trying to ignore Hilda’s ominous words as she stands to greet them. “I’m so glad to see you a-!”

At once, the three students act in unity. Lysithea summons golden chains to snap at Byleth’s hands and feet. Then, Hilda and the man rush forward to point their sword and spear at her throat, all looking coldly upon her as she shrinks away.

“Guys what are you…doing?”

The boy narrows his eyes at her, his glare reminding her something of Ignatz’s own. In fact, now that she looks closer at him, there’s some resemblance of Ignatz in the boy in front of her. They both share the same short stature and beige hair. However, the Ignatz she knows wears glasses and holds a tome. This man holds neither of those traits, owing to Byleth’s realization they must be completely different people.

But, it’s not only him. Hilda and Lysithea look much different too. Even if they appear like her beloved students at a distance, up close Byleth can see the difference between the girls she knows and the women before her.

The girl who looks like Hilda, for one, is much older. For a second, she wears her hair up in a ponytail – something that Hilda would abhor doing (“Because it makes me look less attractive!”) – and stands with a cold calmness that Hilda would never adopt.

The girl who looks like Lysithea, while also appearing older in terms of her increased height, wears a scar on her lower lip and wears pink ear-rings. Her tome book is also adorned in cyan feathers, a characteristic that was far different from the pink rhinestones that usually dressed such a book. That, and the way she curls her lips at Byleth makes the girl realize that this woman and the student she remembers are not the same people.

“Kronya!” The man who looks like Ignatz states, the tip of his spear pricking her throat. “I hope you’re prepared for repentance!”

Byleth blinks at him, her eyebrows furrowing. “Kronya?”

Not-Hilda gives a look of revulsion. “Don’t play those mind games with us. We’re not stupid. We know it’s you! You’re the one who summoned that monster in the first place!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She stares at them, tilting her chin up to fight the apprehension settling in her stomach. “My name is Byleth. I’m a teacher at the Garreg Mach Monastery. I serve the house of the Golden-!”

The pink-haired woman shoves the hilt of her sword against Byleth’s left shoulder and the girl can’t repress the scream that follows. She collapses to her knees, glaring up at Not-Hilda as she clutches at her shoulder.

“We don’t want to listen to your lies,” Not-Lysithea says, as if explaining something to a child. “We’re not dumb. We know teacher’s dead.”

Byleth stares up at her. She stares and stares and stares. Trying to make sense of the words, trying to make sense of the way Not-Lysithea has just referred to her as both “Teacher” and “Dead” in one sentence.

“Wait. Back up a second. Are you saying I’m…deceased? But that doesn’t make sense. I haven’t died. Last I knew, I was at graduation with my students and-”

“Give me the word, leader, and I’ll kill her right now,” Not-Ignatz says, his gaze fixated on Byleth.

There’s a moment of silence. Then, the man curls his lips, shaking his head as he continues talking in disgust.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking. She’s not her. Stop clinging to that stupid hope of yours. She’s never coming back. The person you see in front of you is yet another fake.”

“Her hair is the wrong color too,” Not-Hilda adds, as if joining in on an invisible conversation. “Look at her and tell me that’s not Kronya.”

“My name isn’t Kronya,” Byleth snaps. Then, when they glare at her, she levels her gaze with their own. “My name is Byleth. And I don’t know what you’re talking about. My hair has always been…”

Her gaze flickers to her hair and then trails off. Her hair – which she has always known to be in the teal color of her mother – is now a translucent green.

Stunned, she finds herself looking up at the group before her with confusion. “Hey…what’s going on?”

“Explain that to _us_ ,” Not-Hilda snarls.

Not-Lysithea narrows her eyes, adding on to Lysithea’s words with magic sparking from her fingers. “After all, you’re the only one who would be brave enough to pretend to be teacher in our lord’s presence.”

“Your…lord?”

From above, the trees rustle, shaking as a presence makes itself known. An aura of power fills the air, causing Byleth to stiffen as a blur of gold descends from the canopy above. A figure manifests from that spot of gold, appearing as a man with piercing green eyes and a bow held in his hands.

Byleth watches him in amazement, unable to tear her eyes away as she lays eyes on the man. He looks so like Claude, with that dark skin and that confident posture, that she almost cries out the boy’s name in her confusion. However, when the man before her nocks an arrow and points it at her throat, Byleth finds any sense of alienated relief to dissipate inside her.

“Who are you?” She asks. Then swallows. “You look so much like…”

His eyes looks upon her and, despite herself, she quails at the look held hostage inside his gaze. Cold anger burns on his face, twisting his facial features into something wrathful as he points the arrow at her.

“Explain.” He says, voice cooly calm despite the way the arrow at her throat sparks with red light. “Why have you chosen to appear before us as Teach?”

The way he says “Teach” is so like Claude that it wipes away her will to argue. Instead, she marvels at him, at this man dressed in a gold cape, and finds her gaze lingering on the metal plate attached to his left shoulder. On it, a depiction of Leicester’s noble crests sits for her waiting gaze to see, letting her form her own conclusions as the truth of her situation hits her all at once.

The Divine Pulse has been used, but it hasn’t sent her to the past.

Instead, it’s sent her to the _future._

It’s the only way Byleth can make any sense of the things going on. Before her, Not-Hilda and Not-Lysithea and Not-Ignatz stand in flat resemblance of the students she knows. Not-Lysithea has referred to her – to “Byleth” – as both her teacher and someone dead. Furthermore, this stranger who stands before her, this “lord” of her Not-students who wears a golden cape and stands in resemblance of Claude von Regan himself…it can’t be impossible, right?

Oh, if only Sothis were here. She would know. Sothis would always know.

But Byleth doesn’t have Sothis. She only has herself, her body, and her mind. And, as of right now, everything she’s seen is leading her to the conclusion that she has somehow ended up in the future.

“Listen to me,” she says, nearly pleads, looking up at the man who looks like Claude and trying not to quail. “I don’t know what’s going on here but you are Claude, aren’t you? Claude von Regan?”

“That’s _His_ _Lordship_ to you,” Hilda snarls. “ _No one_ is allowed to speak his name out loud. Not even witches like _you_.”

Byleth frowns at the woman but finds relief in the confirmation of her words. She turns to the man who looks like Claude (who _is_ Claude) and continues speaking, not allowing her confidence to falter. “Do you remember the night of graduation?” She asks him. “Do you remember what you last asked me?”

He looks at her but doesn’t respond. Byleth takes that as all the encouragement she needs to continue.

“You asked me if I would go out with someone if a person who was cool and cunning asked me out on a date then and there.” She says, scrambling for any semblance of a memory to convince him.

Claude looks over her with narrowed eyes. She shrinks under the frost of them, feeling her convictions wavering.

Anxious, her hand reaches to her hair, feeling the need to pull at it. Then, her fingers come to touch upon something soft. Byleth pauses, pulling out a foreign object from her hair. She gives it a wide-eyed stare before putting it on display in front of her student. 

“Do you remember this rose?” She asks him, staring at the red flower now clasped in her fingers. It is still lively in appearance, not at all stained by whatever power has touched her hair. “You gave it to me. You told me I looked good with it on.”

Claude widens his eyes. His bow shakes in his hands but he frowns and steadies his hands.

“Anyone who was there that night could have told me those things,” the man spits. “I won’t believe you on such pitiful words alone.”

She takes a deep breath. He’s right, in some respects. Anyone who was there the night of the graduation party would have seen her and Claude in the flower garden and have heard the conversation she’d held with him. Yet, she had hoped her words would be enough to convince him she was who she said she was.

Feeling desperation prick at her, she tries to think of what she can do to convince him. She needs to say something – _anything_ – in order to convince him that she is Byleth, his teacher who is _alive and well, thank you very much_.

Still, what can she say that would get him to believe her? It had to be something that only they could know, something that he had shared with her and her only. Something like…

_Wait._

Byleth stares at him, finding herself more confident as she faces Claude and readies her words of choice.

“Do you remember us meeting in the old bell tower?” She asks him. Then, without waiting for his reaction, she hurries on. “When I couldn’t choose between you or Dimitri or Edelgard, you came before me and called me out on my cowardice. You told me that you would be behind me no matter what choice I made, insisting that you wouldn’t harm me if I chose the other houses. Your words were what made me choose the Golden Deer. Because of you and your honesty, I chose to join you over the other two. Because you _cared_.”

Claude stumbles back, his bow lowering. Shock overcomes his face, allowing Byleth the feeling of triumph as she smiles at him. “Y-You…but that’s not possible…she’s…you’re…” He dissipates the arrow in his hands, looking at her with such surprise that Byleth can’t help the relief that flutters in her heart.

“Do you believe me?” She asks him. “It’s me, Byleth. Your teacher.”

From her left, Lysithea’s hand sparks with purple magic as Byleth is hit by a blast of Nosferatu. “ _Teacher’s dead!_ ” The woman shouts, her voice cracking as Byleth is left shielding the blast with a cry.

“Lysithea!” Claude glares at the white-haired lady, anger clouding his features.

However, before anyone can act, Ignatz steps in front of Lysithea, staring in anger at his leader as he points his spear at Byleth yet again.

“You mustn’t believe this witch!” Ignatz cries out. Strained exasperation pinches his voice as he steps forward, the wooden pole of his spear pressing hard against the side of Byleth's neck. “We all know teacher is dead. We all saw her die. This isn’t her.”

“ _Ignatz_.”

The man glares at him. “I am only speaking the truth. You can’t believe the words of a shapeshifter. No matter how much you wish for it, we all know the truth. Teacher’s dead, Your Lordship, dead and gone-”

" _IGNATZ!_ "

A booming voice cuts the beige-haired man silent. Byleth looks between the two, furrowing her eyebrows as she observes them both. Claude is practically steaming, curling his lips and leering at the other man. Ignatz is returning his cold stare, defiant and angry. However, the beige-haired man relents with a toss of his head, hands clutching into fists as he looks to the side.

Byleth doesn’t know what’s going on. Clearly, whatever has happened in the future is something of great importance. Yet, left out of the loop and seemingly left untrusted by her former students, all she can do is stare at Ignatz, Lysithea, and Hilda and pray that she can get them to believe her too.

“Ignatz,” she says, calling to his attention and holding his gaze. “When we were at the monastery together, you used to go out on dates with Mercedes. One of those dates consisted of meeting up in the monastery art gallery and kissing her cheek. You promised you would paint her something more beautiful than the all the stars in the world combined. However, at that moment, you hadn’t known I was there. And when you saw me, you begged that I kept your relationship with her a secret from the others. Which I did until now, of course.”

Ignatz’s gaze darkens at her words. Anger sparks in his gaze as he curls his lips. “What a low fucking blow,” he says, his words like nails across a chalkboard as Byleth is left wincing at the venom inside them, “ _teacher_.”

Hilda and Lysithea stare at the man in surprise and then turn to her, hesitance in their gazes as they address Byleth. Lysithea steps forwards, the magic from her hands dissipating as she stares at the girl before her in uncertainty.

“If you really are teacher…” the woman says in a quiet voice, “then do you remember what I told you? About the reason why I joined the Golden Deer in the first place?”

Byleth nods. “You wanted to follow in Claude’s footsteps.” She says. “After you met him in your hometown, you decided you wanted to become his vassal in order to help his goal of creating political stability. Because corruption and poverty was rife in the town you grew up in, and because Claude wanted to fight against that injustice, you sought to help him in any way you could: even if it meant following him to the monastery you despised.”

Lysithea nods. “That’s right,” she says, disbelief paving way to hope. “That’s right, teacher. You remembered.”

“Of course I did,” Byleth smiles at her. “I would never forget anything my students have told me.”

Hilda flicks her gaze over Byleth, crossing her arms and scowling. “ _Well._ ” She says. “I’m not convinced. Try convincing me, teacher. If you are who you say you are, convincing me should be a piece of cake.”

“Okay then.” Byleth smiles, her heart almost light with recollection. “Speaking of cake: even though you tell everyone you hate sweets with a burning passion, I once saw you eating an entire cake meant for Catherine in the monastery kitchen. You threatened to burn all your homework assignments if I ever told on you to the faculty.”

Hilda’s face turns red and she shakes her head. “T-That never happened!” She points a finger at Byleth and huffs. “You’re making up lies! Tell me something else! Something real!”

The girl can’t help herself. She laughs a little, finding the tension in the air easing at last. “Well then, what about this? When we were visiting the Adrestian Empire together, you once commented to me that you thought Edelgard was a control freak. You mentioned how you thought she was overly obsessive and controlling and that she was acting like the mother bird of our group.”

“Because she was! She _totally_ was!” Hilda says and then covers her mouth. “Ugh. _Fine_ , you got me. I _believe_ you. You’re teacher, aren’t you?”

Byleth watches as the four people before her stare at her. Each of their gazes, while still wary and uncertain, are warm with disbelief. Even Ignatz, whose lips are still curled with anger, looks upon her with shock.

It’s such a relief that she finds herself sinking in relief. Lysithea stands over her, dismissing her golden shackles from Byleth’s limbs as she offers the girl a hand. Byleth takes it, squeezing it tight. Hilda jumps forward, her own hand clasping Byleth’s as she grins. Ignatz, however, hovers back, the man watching her with a gaze full of frost. He dips his head to her, admitting his acknowledgement of her presence, before he turns away to accompany his abandoned pegasus.

Byleth looks after him, wondering how the sweet and kind boy she knows can act so angry, when a flash of gold takes her eyes hostage. She turns to watch Claude approach her, greeting him with a beaming smile. She hops forward to greet him, a fluttering sensation of giddiness overtaking her, when the look on his face stops her cold.

He’s staring at her in anger, lips peeling back to reveal a face full of resentment. Furthermore, his hands are clenching into fists, mimicking Ignatz’s own posture as he says:

“You have a _lot_ of explaining to do, Teach.”

Then, he turns his back on her and walks away. Byleth's watches him go with her heart twisting inside her chest, mouth opening and closing as if to try and call his name.

“Wait! Milord!” Hilda turns to Claude, frustration marring her voice as she chases after the man. “Where are you going?”

“Away from here.”

(Numb.)

Byleth feels numb.

“Don’t take it to heart,” Lysithea murmurs, clutching at Byleth’s hands and rubbing circles into it. “I’m sure he’s just as shocked as you are right now.” Then: “Don’t worry, when we get back to the castle, you’ll have a chance to explain everything to him then. He'll understand, I'm sure of it.”

“But Claude…” She says, weakly. “Why did he…?”

Lysithea shakes her head. “All I can tell you is that our leader has gone through a lot in your absence.”

“Like what?”

Lysithea pulls her forward, shaking her head. “That is something I cannot talk about. Not yet, anyways.”

“I see. Well, I’ll...I'll wait until you can talk about it to ask.”

“Thank you.”

Lysithea guides her to a clearing with four waiting pegasi. The four horses peer at Byleth, trotting forward to sniff at her in suspicion. They flick their tails, tilting their heads back and forth, before galloping to the sides of Claude, Ignatz, Hilda and Lysithea.

“We’re heading back to the castle,” Claude says, addressing the four of them with authority in his voice. “Lysithea, I want you to ride with Teach. Everyone else, grab your pegasi and head straight back. We’ve got no time to waste, we need to talk to the others. _Now_.”

“Yes, Milord!” Hilda boards her pegasus and then takes flight. “I’ll see you all then!”

To Byleth's right, Ignatz appears already atop his horse. His gaze slides past the girl as he addresses Lysithea, eyes narrowing as his pegasus stops alongside the white-haired woman's own. “Be careful, Lys." He says. "You can’t trust her yet.”

“She’s not Kronya,” Lysithea counters, clutching Byleth’s hand and shaking her head at Ignatz. “If she was, she wouldn’t have known those things about us.”

“So you say, but we all know Kronya.” He drives his mount in a circle around the two. “Keep your guard up. I don’t want you dying too.”

Then, Ignatz takes to the sky. Byleth turns to the white-haired woman in alarm, her eyes widening as she asks: “Too?”

Lysithea shakes her head. “I’ll tell you another day. For now, Our Lordship is right. We need to get to the castle as soon as possible. Your presence here brings up a lot of questions and it is doubtful that there _aren't_ any prying eyes in this forest.”

“Prying eyes? Who?”

But Lysithea is already guiding her to a white pegasus and shoving Byleth up and into the saddle. Byleth reluctantly complies, adjusting herself as Lysithea follows in line behind her. The girl holds the reins of the pegasus steady, urging her beast forward as she follows alongside Claude’s own mount.

“Are you sure you don’t want to take teacher with you?” The girl asks. “Surely, you want to know where she’s been all these years?”

Claude turns his head to look at her. Then, his gaze slides to Byleth, cold and distant. He says nothing, only looking away to urge his mount upwards as he retreats to the sky. Lysithea shakes her head, following after him as her own pegasus takes flight.

“He feels different,” Byleth says, feeling Lysithea’s arms press against her sides as wind slaps her face. “It’s like he doesn’t even recognize me.”

“A lot has happened in five years,” the woman says.

“Five years?” Byleth turns around to look at her. “What do you mean by _five years?_ ”

“You said the last time you saw us was at graduation, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Well then, this might be surprising to hear but that graduation party…happened over five years ago.”

Byleth reels. Lysithea’s words make sense – the woman does look _much_ older, after all – but it’s the gravity of them that makes her flail in shock. Five years…five years of time was a ridiculous amount of time to have passed. Byleth had come to realize that she was in the future, that the world she existed in now was not the one she knew. Yet, hearing Lysithea’s words made the gravity of her situation fall upon her.

“That’s a…very long time to be gone.”

“It is,” the woman agrees, “which is why you can imagine our shock when you appear before us.” Then, in a lower voice, she states: “We were almost ready to kill you on the spot.”

Byleth flinches. “Why?”

“Imagine our surprise when we see you before us, alive and well after having been declared dead for five years straight. When you left without explanation, the church explained to us that you must’ve died. Which has never made any sense, but we began to think it was true over-time.” Lysithea hugs her arms closer to Byleth’s side, sighing. “Not only that, but we thought you were someone else.”

“Someone else? Like a…twin?”

Lysithea laughs. It’s a pretty laugh. It reminds Byleth of the woman's younger self, of a girl prodigy who finds amusement in anything quite mundane and has the gall to laugh at it. “No, not quite. It’s another thing I can’t quite tell you yet.”

“Can you at least tell me who Kronya is?" She asks, frustration marring her voice. "You all have mentioned that name at least four times in regard to me. But I don’t understand, if she doesn’t look like me then why…?”

“Fine. I guess I can tell you _one_ thing.” Lysithea shakes her head. “Kronya is the name of an Adrestian mage. She has the ability to transform herself into other people. The reason why we thought you were her is because we thought you were A. dead and B. Kronya in disguise. After all, it’s not the first time she’s tried to trick us into compliance.”

“But if she’s Adrestian…then why…?”

The white-haired woman clicks her tongue. She rests her head on Byleth’s shoulder, her arms hugging the girl close to her. “Don’t ask questions you don’t need the answers to yet. You’re back now, that’s all you need to know.”

They linger into silence, Byleth left enjoying Lysithea’s warmth as she nods and allows her questions to die on the tip of her tongue. Lysithea’s right. She’s here, in the future, back in the care of her students. There’s nothing more she can ask for right now.

So, her eyes growing tired and her mind growing fuzzy, she slumps against Lysithea’s chest. Not even taking notice of the girl’s glowing hands, Byleth curls up against her warmth, falling asleep like a child laid to rest as the world darkens to black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest, I'm 100% gonna bet that the timeskip is gonna occur during the big class reunion. However, because I wanted to have my own take on how the timeskip happens, I decided to go down this route instead. It allows me to set up two major theories of mine in one go as well as hint towards the complications of having Byleth experience a forced timeskip. And, oh boy, do I love writing about all those lovely complications~
> 
> Moving on, I wanted to briefly talk about two topics in hand that will be of interest later, the first being that of Kronya and the second being that of Claude.
> 
> For Kronya: For those who don't already know, she's going to be one of the antagonists of the game. I like to call her clown gal but her true name is Kronya. I've obviously taken liberties with her story relevance here but she'll play a big part in this fanfic, especially in terms of her relationship with Ignatz, Claude, Byleth and the rest of the Golden Deer. She'll also probably be a more major character here than in the games: especially since I'm fully expecting her to die before the game even ends.
> 
> For Claude: There’s A LOT going on with him here: so much so that I’m having a hard time balancing how I want him to come across with how he’s actually feeling. There’s so much that’s happened to him within a five year timespan and, unfortunately, that means he isn’t yet the Friendship Speech Boi that we know of from the E3 trailers. And, this also means he holds, ah, interesting feelings towards Byleth at the moment. As you may have observed already :>
> 
> Also, I have a one-shot already in the works for this series already. It's based off Byleth's words here when she mentions her "talk" with Claude in regards to choosing his house. However, what Byleth remembers of it here and what actually went down is an...interesting story~


	3. Interrogation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Byleth learns more about the future of her world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~hewwo i've been working on this for two day's straight now so dfhjfdjh sorry if I haven't been catching up on things lately but I wanted to make sure I could finish this chapter by this weekend if at all possible so here I am!!~~
> 
> So, uh, major spoilers have already been released apparently (at least on Dimitri so far it seems). Which is fun because now I'm starting a social media ban prematurely to avoid hearing/seeing any more spoilers. I'm still gonna be writing fanfics and posting them here but as for Tumblr and Twitter...ha...ha...yeah nope, gonna be avoiding those sites entirely now.
> 
> Also, if you haven't already seen: there's two new one-shots that relate back to this particular universe! _duck, duck, golden goose_ and _Swansong_ are two new one-shots that relate back to Byleth's relationship with Claude during their academy years together. I won't spiel much about them here but if you want to see more of my take on the Claude x Byleth dynamic then check them out!

* * *

“Do you truly believe she is who she says she is?”

“I like to think I don’t have a choice in the matter. But, if I were to be asked my opinion, I would say I’m still not convinced.”

“What could not be convincing about knowing such intimate things about us?”

“With all due respect, we know full well that the Adrestian Empire and the Holy Kingdom of Faergus have employed questionable people. People who have magical capabilities far beyond our understanding, might I add.”

“Are you suggesting this Teach is some sort of doppelgänger? A fake?”

“Take my words as you will. Believe this girl or don’t. But I will warn you, Milord: I fear a darker power is at play. If you trust her for who she says she is, then I fear-“

“That’s enough.”

“Milord?”

“We’ll hear her out. Then, we’ll know the truth for sure. I won’t listen to anything else you say until then.”

“Milord…”

“You are dismissed.”

* * *

When Byleth awakes, she does so in a room of alien white. The room is spacious and coated in endless ivory, lending to a sense of unfamiliarity that crawls upon her skin like maggots.

This isn’t her room. There’s no chandelier to be seen hanging from the ceiling, sparkling and glittering in dazzling sunlight. There’s no fluffy pillows made from purple silk or stuffed toys resembling that of pegasi. There’s nothing of hers around.

This isn’t the monastery. The monastery’s rooms were full of different colors like gold, black, brown and gray. This room was none of those.

In one deep breath that sends her heart pounding in her chest, she sits up in bed, her ( _her?_ ) bed sheets splaying everywhere as she tries to collect herself.

She’s not in her room or in the monastery. She’s established that already. But, by looking around, Byleth can reaffirm that point more clearer. The room is not only white: its bare of anything worth sentimental value. Within the space she occupies, the only splash of colors are the brown wooden frame of her bed, the beige-colored floor, and the white flowerpot full of red roses which pop out like nothing else against an ivory countertop.

Byleth’s heart pounds faster, fingers digging into the fabric underneath. The strangeness of the room bites at her, sending her shrinking as she tries to cling to any figment of familiarity she can.

The sound of someone breathing beside her nearly sends her over the tipping point.

A light snore fills the room – a noise she’s somehow avoided hearing in light of her internal panic. Byleth turns her head towards the source of noise, ready to manifest her sword if necessary, when she realizes with a start who is right beside her.

Claude von Regan - or, rather, his adult self – sits slumped against the side of her bed, sleeping with his head buried into his arms.

The very sight stuns Byleth.

It’s not the first time she’s seen Claude resting on the side of her bed. She’s used to waking up with him by her side, used to seeing him resting atop her sheets waiting for her to make an inevitable recovery. Yet, the Claude she sees before her isn’t the same boy who looks forward to greeting her the moment she wakes up from an accident. Rather, he’s a man who _resembles_ that boy, a man whose present coldness towards her earns her her hesitance in approaching him now.

Byleth reaches out a hand to him. If this were the Claude she knew, she’d be rustling his hair in a teasing fashion to try and wake him up. He would doubtlessly swat her hand away, whining about her cruelness in waking him from his sleep, before his eyes would sparkle with realization and he’d hug her tight.

But this isn’t the Claude she knows. So, her hand falls to her side, gaze helplessly watching him as he rests unaware.

“He looks so harmless like that, doesn’t he?”

The girl startles, gaze swinging wildly until she finds the exit to the room. In a doorframe outlined in white, a blue-haired woman stands. She is leaning against the doorframe, brown eyes looking over Byleth with careful scrutiny.

“Hello,” the stranger says, “I felt you awaken. Are you feeling well now?”

It’s with a pang of longing that Byleth recognizes the woman, her gaze lighting up despite herself as she breathes: “Marianne.”

Marianne tilts her head. “So you recognize me. Well, I suppose that assays a little of my fears.” The woman sighs. “From what I’ve heard, you call yourself our teacher do you not?”

“I don’t _call_ myself your teacher. Rather, I _am_ your teacher.”

“Well,” the woman gives a smile, “you seem to have convinced Ignatz, Lysithea, and Hilda of that fact. And, if it were up to me, I would believe you too. Unfortunately, I am unable to. Like everyone here, I am cautious of your appearance and dubious of the name you claim.”

“What is there to be cautious of?” Byleth demands, only to throw her voice into a whisper when Marianne points to Claude. “I’m not here to harm my students.”

“But you’re here now. Five years later. That’s a long time to be gone.” Marianne shakes her head. “Many here suspect you’re some sort of spy.”

“Would a spy be capable of looking just like me?”

“Well, I don’t know about that strange green hair of yours, but it’s definitely possible. From what Lysithea has told me, you know about Kronya already.”

“The shapeshifter?”

“Yes. Her.” Marianne taps her knuckles against the doorframe, rapping them with a frown. “However, while I don’t believe you’re Kronya, I do believe that there’s something strange about you.”

“Strange?”

“People who disappeared five years ago just don’t show up without a reason.” Marianne says in an ominous voice, turning her gaze upwards. “And, while I don’t know what the Goddess intends, I do know that you being here has upset everyone greatly.”

Byleth stares at her, cupping her hands together and frowning. “I know my being here is a big deal. And, judging by how everyone so far has acted towards me, I know I must not seem real. I’m not sure what happened to you all while I was gone. Seiros knows that even _I_ don’t know what happened to myself.”

“But do you know how you got here?”

“Yes and no.” Byleth gives a pathetic shrug. “It’s a long story.”

Marianne nods. “Well, it won’t be long before you’ll be able to share that story.” The woman looks to Claude. “I’m sure he’ll be waiting to hear what you have to say.”

“Should I wake him then?” Byleth looks over at Claude, a shaking hand reaching to him. It drops again and the girl swallows, looking to Marianne. “Hey, can I ask a question?”

“If you want to ask why he acts so cold towards you, then I’m afraid I can’t talk about it.” When Byleth displays the surprise on her face, the woman gives a gentle smile. “I heard all about it from Hilda.” She explains before continuing on. “Our leader is sensitive about certain subjects. Too sensitive, in my opinion. Regardless, everyone here has already agreed not to tell you anything about that matter. It wouldn’t be fair to our Lordship if we did.”

“And I’m guessing that means not telling me what’s going on?” Byleth speaks in a flat voice.

“Oh no, not at all. Once we ascertain we can trust you, we’ll fill in any gaps you need filling. However…” Marianne’s gaze turns to Claude, “if you wish to know more about his obviously erratic behavior, I’m going to have to request you ask him yourself. None of us here will answer that for you.”

“I see…” Byleth stares at Claude, hand still hovering.

“You may wake him if you wish.” Marianne says. “Now that you’re awake, he’ll want to hear from you as soon as possible. I would suggest you wake him immediately, however. The others are getting antsy and I would hope you don’t keep them waiting any longer.”

“Any longer?” Byleth looks at Marianne, the question burning on the tip of her tongue, when the door to the room clicks shut. “ _Seiros_ , what I wouldn’t give to know what’s going on.”

She cups her hands together, closing her eyes and filtering her mind of anxious thoughts.

 _Breathe in_ , she tells herself, thinking of whirling wind and peeling petals.

 _Breathe out_ , she tells herself, thinking of shifting snow and a murmuring moon.

_Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe-_

“Teach?”

Her breath catches in her throat as the figure sleeping on her bed shifts to attention.

Claude von Regan pulls himself from off her sheets, rubbing at his eyes and giving a small yawn.

“I had the strangest dream, Teach,” he says, looking at her and yet not at her. “You came back to us from the past and you said things only you could possibly know. I thought you were really here again. Sounds crazy though, doesn’t it?”

The expression he wears is soft and innocent. And, even though his face is sharpened into unfamiliarity with the passage of time, Byleth can recognize the boy she knows in the eyes of this stranger. It sends her heart beating so fast that she nearly grabs him into a hug right then and there, wanting to cling upon that familiarity in any way she can.

“I’m here,” she tells him, reaching out to grab his hand and squeeze it tightly. It’s so much bigger than she remembers it but it still radiates the warmth she loves.

“No,” Claude shakes his head, pulling away from her, “you’re not. You’re a figment of my imagination.” His fingers dig into the bedsheets. “You’re _always_ a figment of my imagination.”

Then, as if coming to terms with reality, Claude’s eyes narrow and he slaps her hand away from him. Cold frost permeates his face, taking away that familiar expression and leaving Byleth recoiling as the man gets to his feet.

“Claude!” She says, her voice as strong as she can muster it to be in the face of such blatant rejection. “Don’t you remember me?”

He stares at her and doesn’t say anything. Byleth watches him, squirming under the uncomfortable silence drifting between them.

“Come with me,” he says, that former voice of innocence turned into something sharp and authoritative. “We have a lot to discuss.”

Byleth does as she is told, nails biting her skin as she follows behind him. He leads her out the doorway and into a wide hallway painted tan. She watches him, watches the way his gold cape flutters heartlessly behind him and watches the way he steps without care for her presence.

“Claude...? Why are you…?”

He turns to look at her. It’s a scathing look, one that bites away at her bravery and sends her slumping.

It hurts. _Ah_ , it hurts.

It hurts to be so close to Claude, to have him in arm’s reach, only to be treated like nasty thing that he’s forced to escort. This isn’t her Claude. This isn’t the Claude who bumps his shoulders with hers and declares the world his oyster. It’s not the Claude who smiles at her always, who takes her hands and admits his fondness for her like some sort of secret joke shared between them.

No, this Claude is someone else entirely. He’s grown up. He’s changed. He’s unreachable. He’s cold and suffocating and spiraling out of reach. Even the way he looks at her, with narrowed eyes and flaring nostrils, speaks much of his animosity.

So lost in her misery is she that Byleth doesn’t even realize the moment when she’s been escorted into another room entirely. It’s only when she feels a hand on her shoulder that her mind comes clear, gaze tossed about a room filled to the brim with faces strangely familiar.

“Are you feeling okay?” Lysithea asks. “I’m sorry I had to use my magic on you. It’s alliance policy to put people to sleep when we bring them here. I just didn’t expect you to have such a weak resistance to it.”

Byleth looks over at her, eyebrows furrowing.

“You were asleep for three days,” Hilda says, jumping forward to answer Byleth’s unspoken question. “Sleeping magic is only supposed to work for a day’s time.”

“I really overdid it. I’m sorry you had to be out that long.” Lysithea bows before Byleth, “I apologize sincerely for my error in judgement.”

The girl holds up her hands, ready to waive her apology, when a smooth voice interrupts her with an arrogant sense of elegance.

“ _Enough_ with the fraternizing. We’re not here to indulge in needless conversations. We’re here to hold a conference. I’d like to remind you that directly engaging with the subject of interest is not a subject of note in this meeting.”

Byleth’s gaze flicks to the sight of a man with long purple hair. The speaker is holding a tome in his hands, glaring at Lysithea and Hilda until the two retreat to sit at two seats left open for them. Sitting beside them are students in resemblance of those Byleth knows. Among them, Byleth recognizes Leonie and a hooded man who vaguely resembles Raphael.

Lorenz nods his approval, flicking open his tome and casting a spell upon a square slab of gray concrete. Glowing purple lines appear to form an intricate pattern, connecting together to form a magic circle that glows with an eerie power.

“Are you…?” Byleth looks at the man, watching the way he commands his magic with a sense of awe, “are you possibly Lorenz?”

The man narrows his eyes at her, gesturing to the magic circle. “Step into the circle,” he says.

She bites her lip, gaze seeking Lysithea and Hilda. The two girls nod at her, smiling. Byleth nods in return, stepping into the magic circle and feeling static creep throughout her body.

“This magic circle,” Claude states, circling her with his hands behind his back, “is a spell that forces people to tell the truth. You cannot speak lies while inside it. If you do, your own body will tell the truth for you. Let me demonstrate.”

Claude steps into the magic circle with perfect bravado, leaving Byleth to hurriedly step out of it as the man stares up at his audience. The nobles of Leicester – Byleth’s former students – watch him with knowing, boredom evident in the way they slouch their bodies and roll their eyes.

 _It seems like this spectacle is intended for me and me alone_ , she thinks with a frown, scooting away from the magic circle until her heels are at the edge of the slab she stands upon.

“Lorenz,” Claude says, speaking to the man casting the spell, “ask me any questions you like. I will try and answer them with lies.”

“Very well, Milord. Let’s start with this then: Are you the leader of the Leicester Alliance?”

Claude dips his head. “I am not.” Then, he pauses for a second. A seeming pulse of shock rings through him, swaying his figure, before he corrects himself with: “Yes I am.”

“Next question: Have you ever attended Garreg Mach Monastery?”

The golden-caped man stands silent. Byleth peers at him. When he doesn’t make a move to speak however, she watches as his figure sways yet again and he comes to speak.

“Yes, I have.”

Lorenz nods. “As you can see,” he tells the audience, his gaze singling out Byleth in particular, “giving no answer will result in you providing one regardless. It is not only a magic spell that incites the truth but it incites the compulsory truth as well. Lying is not an option but neither is silence.”

Claude tilts his head and his gaze meets Byleth’s. There’s a pause. And then:

“Third and final question: Who do you care most about?”

Claude gives the man a wide-eyed stare, firmly clenching his jaw shut. However, the spell wracks its way through his body, forcing him into compulsion as he says:

“The person I care most about is- _Mmph!_ ”

Claude pushes his way out of the magic circle, a hand slapping over his mouth. He freezes in place for just a second. Then, he regains his calm, rounding on Lorenz with a glare so hideous that it makes the man flinch. The purple-haired man huffs, continuing on with a flustered look on his face.

“ _You_ ,” he says to Byleth, “step back into that circle. We will have _no_ _more_ delays.”

Byleth does as she is told. Now that she knows the effects of the magic circle, she has nothing to lose.

A collective sharp intake of breath wracks the room. She meets the gazes of the people in the room, steadying herself as she turns to Lorenz.

“I’m ready.” She says.

“Good. We wouldn’t have it any other way.” Lorenz nods. “Let’s start with the first question then: Is your name Byleth?”

“It is.”

“Five years ago, did you work at the Garreg Mach Monastery?”

“Yes.”

“What was your position?”

“A teacher for the Golden Deer.”

Lorenz nods. He turns to Claude, then to the audience awaiting his words. Byleth squares her shoulders. There’s some sort of unspoken agreement in the air, an agreement she’s not privy to.

Then, as if agreeing to appeal to her sudden suspicions, Lorenz asks: “Where have you been for the last five years?”

Byleth swallows, thinking of a proper response. _How can I respond to that?_ She thinks. _Do I say that I haven’t been anywhere? Do I say that I don’t know? No matter what I say, they’ll think I’m crazy._

Instead, a sharp tinge of static pulses through her, pricking at every fiber of her skin like needles tapping upon her nerves.

Forced under the compulsion to speak, she blurts out: “I’ve been traveling through time.”

The room folds into silence. Then, it breaks out in a raucous murmur, looks of disbelief and puzzlement tossed in her direction.

“Explain what you mean by that?” Lorenz asks.

“Exactly as I said it. I travelled through time.” Her mouth moves despite herself, blabbering onwards and onwards with no self-restraint. “I have the power to travel through time. However, it’s not my power. It belongs to a girl who lives inside my head. And this power can’t take me to the future, only to the past. Except this time it took me to the future.”

The murmurs erupt into outrage. She can hear people screaming, can hear them shrieking in disbelief and confusion. They whisper and stare at her like one might a flying donkey. Bewilderment as well as anger threads into their voices, disbelief punctuating the air. Byleth almost feels like she’ll be swept up in the cacophony when a hand raised by Claude sends her audience into perfect silence.

Stepping like a predator circling its prey, Claude surrounds her, his feet teasing the edge of the magic circle. Purple light illuminates his figure, making him appear otherworldly as he watches her.

For a moment, there is nothing but her, him, and the magic circle. For a moment, she’s left holding his gaze, turning to forever greet him as he revolves around lines made of purple power. She looks to him, _begs_ to him, and yet she still flinches when he takes his turn to speak.

“I want answers,” he says. “Explain from the beginning. If what you say is true, I only have one question: How did you end up in the future if you’re from the past?”

Byleth breathes in. Breathes out. Composes herself.

And then, she starts.

“On the night of graduation, everything was normal. I met with you in a rose garden. You told me to come and meet with everyone in the Golden Deer. I did so. We were greeted by Edelgard and Dimitri-” Byleth doesn’t miss the hiss in the room that comes from mentioning their names, “-and we agreed to meet at a five year reunion. When they left, everyone started talking about who they liked. The last thing I remember was you asking me if I would go out with a certain guy on the spot.”

Claude’s eyes narrow at her. She holds his stare, unwavering.

“Then, the world turned to gray. No one was moving. No one except for Sothis.”

“Sothis?”

“The girl who lives inside my head.” Byleth flushes as a disturbed murmur sounds from her audience. “I know it sounds crazy. It took me a long time to get used to her, too. But she has these powers. With them, she can turn back time. She gave these powers to me and I used them quite frequently. You may have even seen me use my powers, although you may have never noticed it.”

“How?” Lorenz asks.

“The best example I can give is when I first met Claude and the other two lords.” Byleth turns to Claude, brightening with morbid relief at the way his eyes sparkle with curiosity. “I actually died that day. In order to protect Edelgard, I shielded her with my body. However, because Sothis saved me with her powers, I was able to not only rewind time but to also save Edelgard from being killed.”

Another murmur sounds from the crowd. This time, it’s something that speaks of disgust and discomfort. Byleth pays them no mind, focusing on her story at hand as her gaze swivels to Lorenz.

“On a field trip to the Holy Kingdom of Faergus, there was a particular avalanche that occurred. During that avalanche, you were helping everyone run away. However, in the process of helping Felix, who had fallen while trying to escape, you were held up and stood in the direct path of a broken tree log. The first time around, I was not aware and you died in front of me.”

Lorenz’s gaze is wary. Yet, Byleth sees the way he swallows, sees the way his Adam’s apple bobs in his throat as if he can recall the moment she’s speaking of.

“I saved you that day by slicing apart that tree log. However, I did so only because I had the knowledge of the future. If I had not had my powers, I never would’ve realized you would be killed by such a thing. I had other things to pay attention to. Yet, I used my powers to save you because I had the ability to do so."

She waits for someone to speak up. When no one does, she continues.

“When the world went gray, Sothis was there. She was choking, suffocating. She told me her powers were being overridden, that I couldn’t use my own powers. And then…she disappeared, and I heard a voice. Afterwards, I woke up in a forest. A forest in Leicester territory.”

“Chrom’s Sanctuary,” Claude says.

“…Right, I woke up in Chrom’s Sanctuary. I met a monster there. When fighting it, Claude and the others came to my rescue. And, well, I’m sure you’ve heard the rest from there.”

The room remains in silence when she finishes. Byleth stares at her feet, shifting back and forth under their gazes. She knows how preposterous her story sounds. She’s aware of that. But it’s the full and honest truth: the magic circle has made sure of that.

“You don’t have to believe me,” she says, shoulders tensing. “But I’m not lying. I wouldn’t lie.”

“I don’t think we quite disbelieve you. After all, your story sounds…credible.” A voice says and a blue-haired lady appears. “However, if we are to assume you are speaking the full truth, I want to know more.”

Marianne makes her way to the front and curtsies before Claude. She stands to attention, watching her leader with her hands crossed in front of her. The man nods and she turns her attention to Byleth.

“If I may,” she says, “I’d like to ask some questions.”

The girl dips her head. “Ask whatever you like.”

“Thank you. My first question, then, concerns your hair. Teacher doesn’t have green hair. If you are her, why is your hair like that?”

“I could not tell you that,” Byleth says, grabbing a lock of her own hair and pulling it forward. “I don’t know anything about why my hair is like this. However, if I had to guess, I would say it’s a result of my time travel.”

“Alright. Next question. What happened to the girl you call Sothis? Is she still around. Do you have proof she even exists?”

Byleth hangs her head. “I don’t know where Sothis is. I wish I knew. But I don’t. When I came here, I lost the ability to talk with her. I don’t know where she is now.

“However, if I were to prove she’s real…” Byleth holds her hand in front of her, manifesting the Sword of the Creator before her. There’s a collective hiss from her audience and Byleth glares at them with narrowed eyes. “This sword was given to me by Sothis. With it, I can do many things like heal myself or use combat arts no one else has been able to use before.”

“Can you use those arts right now?” Marianne asks. “I’d like a demonstration.”

Lorenz clicks his tongue. “And I would like for us to _not_ have one. Or do you want this entire room obliterated into pieces, Marianne?”

A hand goes into the air and everyone turns to look at Claude. The man turns to Byleth, lowering his arm as he commands: “It’s fine. Show us one of your arts. Marianne, I want you to contain the damage with your magic.”

The blue-haired woman dips her head, hands spread before her to cast a large barrier of cyan that locks Byleth inside a dome of magic.

Expectant eyes lock on the green-haired girl, so much so that Byleth can feel her nerves eating at her. She holds up her sword, a hand pressed to the blade, and calls out: “Wyvern luminis!”

From her sword, Byleth summons sparks of lightning that congregate to form the imitation of a wyvern. The artificial creature raises its wings, ramming into the wall of the magic dome and shrieking. It claws at the shield, biting and snapping until Byleth dismisses it with a swing of her weapon.

“I trust this is enough.”

There’s a stunned silence. Then, murmurs. Everyone around Byleth is whispering, hands cupping lips as discussion is passed from mouth to mouth. She stands under their scrutiny, sword held at her side as Marianne’s magical barrier dissipates.

“Well then,” Lorenz claps his hands and the circle underneath Byleth’s feet disappears. “I think we’re ready to pass on judgment.” He turns to the crowd watching. “Now, out of every one of us here, who believes she is Byleth?”

Byleth watches as Lysithea, Hilda and Ignatz immediately raise their hands. She smiles at them, grateful, but notices with a sinking feeling that, out of eight people in attendance, only three believe in her.

“Now, who doesn’t believe her?”

To her surprise, no one raises their hands. She furrows her eyebrows at them, lips pursing as Lorenz continues.

“And then finally, who cannot decide on the truth of the matter?”

Marianne raises her hand. As does the man draped in black and a short-haired girl who reminds Byleth distinctly of Leonie. Lorenz raises his own hand as if to implicitly state his own verdict, adding to the numbers of the vote as he clicks his tongue.

“Well then, it seems no one is truly against you. Problem is, only three of eight people here who have voted actually believe you.”

“ _Seven_ ,” pipes up Hilda, “there are only _seven_ people who have voted.”

Someone hushes the pink-haired girl but it’s too late. Byleth’s head swings to her left, watching with a flush of nervousness as Claude tilts his head. At once, the four people whose hands have shown support for uncertainty turn to the man. They lean forward, gazes catching on their golden leader as he takes the spotlight.

“What is your verdict?” Lorenz says, tilting his head towards the man. “If you pass one on, the others will follow in your lead. If you believe her, we’ll have no choice but to too. If you don’t, then we can feel free to end her life right here.”

Byleth swallows. She turns to Claude, searching his face. He stares back at her, gaze even and unyielding. His arms are folded across his chest, cape fluttering as he comes to step before Byleth. Then, he summons his bow, manifesting a red arrow and pointing it at her forehead.

There’s an audible gasp from the room. Byleth faces Claude, gaze watching him. She looks into his eyes, looks into those windows of his soul and asks him what he’s thinking. His gaze reveals nothing, face shaped into the firm image of a thinking man as he pulls back the arrow.

She watches him. She watches the way he draws back the arrow, its red aura of no concern to his bare fingers. Her grip tightens around her sword, the urge to fight suddenly springing upon her. She can feel the hum of battle in her body, the need to protect herself in any way possible. Yet, in front of Claude, all she can do is stand and watch him pull back the arrow that will take her life.

Her sword vanishes from her fingers. She doesn’t know if she’s okay with letting Claude do this. She doesn’t know if she’s really this willing to die. But some part of her trusts Claude. Some part of her is yearning for him to recognize her, to see the teacher he knows in her eyes and call her name and hug her tight.

Instead, the arrow in his hands dissipates and he turns his back on her. Byleth’s eyes widen, confusion marring her emotions, when Claude says:

“I believe her.”

At once, a whoosh of air leaves the bodies of all those in attendance. Byleth watches in amazement as Claude’s mere words incite a change in those around her, creating a murmur of relief that settles in the room and turns the atmosphere from tense to comforting.

“If our leader believes in you than I do too,” Lorenz states, nodding his head and bowing before her. “Forgive us for our rudeness, teacher.”

“I didn’t think you were actually teacher,” an older Leonie states, appearing to appraise Byleth with appreciation. “You sure got a strange story under your belt but teacher’s teacher. Regardless of whatever mumbo-jumbo you’re spilling, I’ll believe in you!”

“As will I,” says the man cloaked in black. He pulls back his hood to reveal himself as an older version of Raphael.

“Well, _I_ believed in her from the start,” Hilda jumps to Byleth’s side, grinning cheekily at the girl.

“Sure you did,” Lysithea rolls her eyes and Hilda gives her a playful punch on her shoulder.

“I hope you can forgive me for my hesitance,” Marianne says, curtsying before Byleth. “All of us here were worried of being tricked.”

“Thankfully, I think we’re past that fear now.” Ignatz appears with a nod in the girl's direction. His face is less cold now, more forgiving. It sets her at ease as the man turns to Claude. “It’s time to explain things.”

The gold-caped man sighs. He pinches the bridge of his nose and reaches out to grab Byleth’s hand. She flinches at his touch, almost yanking her hand in the process, when Lysithea’s hand on her shoulder reassures her.

“It’s okay.” The girl says in a whisper. “Trust me.”

Byleth gives a nervous nod, unable to say anything in return.

Lysithea smiles, giving a curtsy to Claude when he turns his gaze to her. There’s something rather harsh about his look towards the white-haired woman. Yet, Byleth can see an edge of desperation in his gaze, something almost pitifully weak as he yanks Byleth forwards.

Lorenz follows at their heels, speaking not a word as Claude escorts her into a separate room down the hall. He brings her in and then lets his hand loose, stepping over to a table with large-throne like seat. He sits upon the chair, leaning back into it as Lorenz offers Byleth a chair and then stands to the side.

“As I said before,” Claude states, resting his chin on the top of his propped up arms, “we have a lot to discuss, _Teach_.”

She winces at the strained use of her nickname. “I see that we do. What has happened in the five years that I’ve been gone?”

“A lot,” Lorenz states. He turns his attention to Claude, staring at the man. “Perhaps too much.”

Claude clears his throat. “First of all, let me start with this: Do you remember Mercedes?”

Byleth thinks of the brown-haired girl with eyes of perpetual kindness and nods. “I do. What about her?”

“She’s dead now.” Claude observes her shocked reaction with a frown. “She died two years ago.”

“How? What about Ignatz? He was…last I knew he was…”

“We assume she was murdered,” Lorenz states. “Her corpse was found on the border between us and the Adrestian Empire, after all.”

“As for Ignatz,” Claude continues. “Well, you saw how he behaved towards you earlier. His hatred for you was aimed at Kronya, however, and was completely misdirected when he met you.”

Byleth frowns at the mention of the strange name. “Lysithea told me about Kronya, that she’s an Adrestian mage. Does that have something to do with…?”

“Ostensibly, yes,” Lorenz waves a hand. “We don't know the full details but we are well under the implication that Kronya was behind Mercedes's death. When we found her corpse at the border, Kronya and a monster were standing right next to her.”

“A monster?”

“You encountered one of them in the woods,” Claude says in a low voice. “That strange creature is one of her creations.”

“We call them demons,” Lorenz states matter-of-factly. “They are mindless things. They hunt living beings for sport, decimate villages single-handledly, and are the fear of everyone on this continent. Truly, we don’t know what they actually are or what their purpose is. However, it seems they need human sacrifices to be summoned. In this case, it's suspected that Mercedes was used to create one.”

“That’s horrible,” Byleth grimaces.

“Indeed. Which is why we were hunting one down when _you_ appeared. Quite a surprise too. We all thought you were Kronya when we heard the story. That witch has been known to follow around her creations. We thought you were her in disguise.”

“So everyone keeps telling me.”

“Yes, I’m sure. Thankfully, it seems everyone here is willing to believe you are who you say you are. Be glad or else we’d have your head on a stake by now.”

She nods, looking straight at Claude as she says: “I’m grateful you all believed in me.”

The man narrows his eyes and says nothing on her comment. “Because of Kronya’s actions we are now at war with the Adrestian Empire.”

“The Adrestian Empire?” Byleth leans forward, eyebrows furrowing. “At war with the emperor?”

“At war with Edelgard,” Claude corrects.

His words sting at her, forcing her to recoil as she says: “You’ve gone to war with _Edelgard?_ ”

A sigh, one that escapes from Claude’s body through his flaring nostrils. He closes his eyes, shakes his head, and then looks up at her. “They attacked us unprovoked and killed one of our own. Not only that but Kronya is one of the new Empress’s strategists. Believe it or not, Edelgard held a knowing hand in Mercedes’s murder. We’re only acting in retaliation for her death.”

Byleth stares at him, gaping. “You can’t go to war with Edelgard! There’s no way she would’ve done anything that would hurt another person. Edelgard is someone I would trust with my life.”

" _Teach_ ,” Claude narrows his eyes. “It’s been five years. People change.”

 _I’ve changed,_ rings unsaid in Byleth’s ears. “Even still…she’s not someone who would…”

“And yet here we stand,” Lorenz states, “at war with not only her but King Dimitri of the Holy Kingdom as well.”

She spins around, suffering a slight bout of whiplash as she stares at the older man. “ _What?_ ” Byleth glares at Claude. “Why?”

“Why do you think?” He answers back coolly. “Mercedes was originally a citizen of Dimitri’s nation. When she was murdered in our territory, they turned the blame to us and the Adrestian Empire. They took it personally: especially since Dimitri was promised her safety while staying in Leicester territory.”

“So you’ve all gone to _war_ while I was away?” Byleth bites at her bottom lip. “That isn’t right. You should all be getting along. They’re not cruel people. If they listen to reason, then maybe-“

“People change,” Claude repeats himself with a glower. “And besides, we’ve tried negotiating them already. But there’s the thing: we’re not the only one who’s suffered brutal casualties.”

Byleth snaps to attention. “What do you mean by that?”

“Do you remember Felix, Linhardt, and Petra?”

“I do." She pauses. "Why? What happened to them?”

“You catch on quick,” Lorenz says with a tinge of praise. “As expected of teacher. Well, we can say this much: they suffered the same fate as Mercedes, and all at the border.”

“Did Kronya do something to them too? But, wait, no, if she’s Adrestian, why would she kill Linhardt and Petra?”

“We have no proof that Kronya is involved,” Claude says. “However, we have heard rumors. It’s been said that Linhardt and Petra were traitors to the empire. And, well, Edelgard doesn’t take well to _traitors._ ”

“That isn’t…but they were…”

“I won’t try to convince you to change your view on them,” Claude mutters. “But Edelgard and Dimitri are different now. They’re not innocent people. They’ve stained their hands in blood. They’re adults now. They’re no longer kids who need their hands held in battle.”

Byleth opens her mouth, wanting to say something, but finds herself cut off as Lorenz says: “That’s enough for one day. I’m sure you’re already feeling overwhelmed. For now, let me escort you to the dining hall. You must be famished.”

The man ushers her up and out of her seat. Byleth obliges with some hesitance, meeting Claude’s gaze and frowning at him. He reflects her look, eyes wandering her face for a moment’s glance, before he waves her off.

Her heart squeezes in her chest as she bows before him. When she stands up, she sees some form of surprise fluttering on his face. She turns her back on him and follows Lorenz out of the room, a hand to her heart as she looks at the man who has escorted her out.

“Why did things end up this way?”

“Because of Kronya,” Lorenz says, “and because no one is willing to listen to the other side. However, there are indeed more factors involved.”

“Like what?”

“It’s not something you need to worry about yet.” Lorenz guides her down a hall and up a flight of stairs. A distant chatter reaches her ears and Byleth soon finds herself standing in a room full of soldiers and waiters. They turn to her, gazes inquisitive, before quickly looking away when Lysithea and Hilda come to greet her.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Hilda comments, taking her hand.

“She probably feels like it,” Lorenz responds with the closest look to a sympathetic smile Byleth has ever seen on him. “We told her about the war.”

“As I imagined you would,” Lysithea guides their group over to a table and then looks at Lorenz. “Are you joining us today?”

“No. I have a feeling Milord will drag me away if I do. He seemed, ah, upset at my antics earlier.”

“Well of course he would,” the white-haired woman rolls her eyes and then shoos him away with a wave of her hands. “Go on then. Hurry back to our lord’s side.”

The purple-haired man snorts. He gives a mocking bow to the group of girls and then leaves. Byleth watches him go, raising her eyebrows at the way he slumps into a sulking position and leaves with a noticeable pout on his face..

“Don’t worry about him,” Hilda scoffs. “He’ll be getting what he deserves.”

“And what is it he deserves?” The girl asks.

“An earful from our Lordship,” Lysithea rolls her eyes, raising a hand to grab the attention of a wandering waiter.

“Honestly,” Hilda sighs. “None of us are half as dumb as that man is.”

“Or foolishly brave,” Lysithea adds.

“True that.”

A servant comes before them, eyeing Byleth briefly before he turns to the others. “May I take your orders?”

“We’ll have the usual,” Hilda says, referring to herself and Lysithea. She then points to Byleth. “She’ll be having curry.”

The waiter nods, writing down their orders before disappearing.

“You remembered my favorite dish,” Byleth says, flushing.

“Of course we did,” Hilda gives a cheeky grin. “We could never forget your forbidden romance with curry.”

Byleth flushes harder. “You make it sound as if I’m in love with eating curry.”

“Aren’t you? I seem to recall you stuffing yourself to the brim with that stuff whenever you could.”

“And that’s not to say you haven’t done the same with any cake in sight?” Lysithea teases, letting her head lie on the pink-haired woman’s shoulders.

“Ugh, I’m _telling_ you that’s all in your imagination! I would _never_ eat cake. Not even the kind that’s chocolate with vanilla frosting, rainbow sprinkles and don't _even_ forget the…”

 _Ah_ , Byleth could get used to this. As she listens to her former students talk, all she can think about is her days at the academy. Many lunch periods were spent sitting alongside her students just like this, indulging in meals and enjoying the time they have together. It’s a nice, nostalgic feeling. One that Byleth relishes in. Their conversation plays in front of her, wordless and yet full of words at the same time, and she finds herself swept into the flow of time…

* * *

Night comes, but it comes peacefully despite her many worries.

Despite being have assigned a room by Lorenz within the grounds of the Leicester palace she now inhabited, Byleth had taken to wandering. She’d spent many moments tossing and turning in her bed, sheets tucked in odd crevices of her figure, until she’d given up to explore the outside world.

Fresh air greets her as she exits the interior of the palace to appear in the premises of some courtyard. Around her, four walls surround her, standing tall and looming as if to keep her from looking beyond them. She frowns at their posture before moving to the middle of a courtyard. A gazebo awaits her gaze, sitting upon a square of concrete and sporting a table that’s circled by three chairs.

Byleth occupies the chair closest to her, enjoying the taste of midnight air as the light of nearby lanterns illuminates the world around her. She places her hands on the table before her, slumping forwards to press her left cheek against cold glass.

“There’s so many things that have happened,” she murmurs. “And there’s so many things I don’t know about anymore.” She traces invisible patterns with her fingers. “Everyone has grown up? Claude is different? Mercedes is dead? Edelgard and Dimitri have gone to war with Leicester and each other? Felix and Petra and Linhardt have been murdered?” She sighs, nestling her head into the crook her arms. “How much more is there that I don’t know?”

It’s these kind of thoughts that keep her from admiring the sparkling midnight sky standing overhead. She can’t help it: there’s so much she doesn’t know and yet there’s so much she wonders about.

Pulling back in her chair, Byleth reaches for the stars overhead. She grasps at them like a child might, wanting to pull them from the world above and into the palms of her hand. If only she could reach for that radiance…if only she could understand the reason for their never-ending sparkle. If only she could understand the way they shine the same way they do in the present as they had in the past…then maybe...

 _Creeeeeeee_ …

The girl comes to attention, freezing in place as her gaze is caught by something flashing red. In front of her, perched on one of the towering walls of the Leicester Palace, is a hulking shape of unnatural form. It sits with a long tail standing behind it, moonlight reflecting upon pointy fangs and sharpened claws.

Byleth’s eyes widen as her gaze catches sight of the thing, wondering how it could appear so silently yet only now make a noise. Not only that but…she finds the thing to be looking rather familiar… _oh!_

“The demon in the woods,” Byleth says in a sharp whisper. “Why are you here?”

It makes a sound akin to the movement of a creaking fence, voice high-pitched and nonsensical. It tilts its head at her, red eyes burning with luminance in the darkness of the night, and Byleth finds herself frozen to a standstill as she observes the creature.

 _No sudden movements,_ she thinks. _Nothing to alarm it. Maybe it didn’t see me and it’s looking at something else entirely._

The way it looks at her, however, makes her believe otherwise. A long tongue curls out from its mouth, glinting with saliva and making Byleth pale as she reaches out a hand to summon her weapon.

However, just as she’s about to call the Sword of the Creator before her, a voice calls her name and stuns her into stillness. The demon twitches on its perch, long tail thrashing behind it, and Byleth takes its moment of distraction to turn around and come face-to-face with Ignatz.

“Be careful!” She says to him, pointing at the wall where the monster rests as she does so. “There’s a demon over there!”

Ignatz immediately stiffens, gaze following her finger. However, when he does so, he furrows his eyebrows. Byleth turns her head to address the monster, her sword already in front of her, when she realizes with a start that the creature is gone.

“Are you sure you saw a demon?” Ignatz asks. “I don’t see anything.”

She flusters. “But it was…it was just there! Watching!”

“But I don’t see it now.” Ignatz eyes her, frowning. “If it went away we should be fine. Once they turn tail, those demons will turn docile for a few days time. If it got spooked, then we should be alright. But just in case, I’ll tell Claude to increase security.”

Byleth nods, relaxing. Still, she holds onto her sword for protection, unwilling to let go of it even as Ignatz eyes it with suspicion.

“Why are you here?” She asks him. “Did Claude send you for me?”

“No,” he says. “Rather, I wanted to talk to you. And apologize.”

“Apologize?” She stares at him wide-eyed.

“For the way I treated you.” Ignatz gives her a low bow, one that conveys the very seriousness of his sudden apologetic nature. “I’m sorry, teacher. I’ve said some harsh things. Please forgive me.”

“A-Ah, you don’t have to bow,” Byleth shakes her head at him. “I forgive you already. I know everyone here has their circumstances for not trusting me. Especially you, from what I’ve heard.”

“Yes.” Ignatz’s gaze darkens. “Kronya did something unspeakable and I won’t let her get away with it.”

She looks at him. He looks so unlike the kind-hearted boy of her academy days. Instead, it looks like he’s about ready to burst with anger, face flushing red as he curls his hands into fists and look away.

“Mercedes was your girlfriend, wasn’t she?”

“My wife,” Ignatz corrects softly. “We were married three years ago.”

“And then she was murdered?”

“Yes. I was the first to see her corpse.” Ignatz’s eyes sparkle with something wet. “She was terribly murdered by one of those horrendous demons. You couldn’t even have recognized it was her if not for the clothes remaining on her person."

She remains silent, unknowing what to say. Instead, she reaches out and pats him on his shoulder. Ignatz looks at her, nodding at her gesture and giving a bittersweet smile.

“It feels weird to have you back, teacher.”

“It feels weird to be here now.” She says with a small laugh. “I still can’t get used to the fact you’ve all grown up. Even Claude…” She struggles with the man's name, voice dropping to a whisper as she says: “Even Claude has grown…”

Ignatz’s hand drops on her shoulder. He shakes his head, almost snorting. “Claude hasn’t grown one bit,” the man says. “If he had, he wouldn’t be acting like a child right now.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t explain, sorry.” Ignatz gives another bittersweet smile and at this point Byleth's not sure if she should be expecting any other kind of answer. “It’s not my place to talk about our lord’s feelings. However, I do think I understand him a little.”

“Oh?”

“When you lose someone you love, you change.” Ignatz murmurs. “You lash out and you deny reality. That’s how it's been like with me ever since Mercedes died.”

“I see…”

“Yet,” Ignatz continues, “when reality comes creeping back to you, what do you do? Do you accept it? Or do you fight it?”

He hands her two rhetorical questions. Byleth answers neither of them, letting him speak further to fill the silence.

“Our Lordship is a difficult person. Often, he can’t be reasoned with. Even _you_ may have a hard time handling him right now.”

There’s something teasing in Ignatz’s voice. It makes Byleth roll her eyes despite herself, her polite laughter accompanying his words.

“Claude’s always been a handful.” She says in exasperation.

“True that,” Ignatz nods with a laugh of his own. Then, he turns his gaze to the sky and says: “And with that said, I think I should get going soon.”

“Tired?” She asks.

“Always,” he responds. “But to be truthful, I have a meeting to be at soon enough. If I don’t show up, Hilda will have my head on a spike.” He sighs. “Well then, I’ll be off.”

She waves at him and he nods. He turns to leave, walking a few paces away before he looks over his shoulder at her and says: “Oh, and teacher?”

“Yes?”

“Please be patient with Claude. We’re just as surprised as you are at how he’s acting. He isn't normally like this.” He pauses. “Talk to him sometime, alright?”

“I’ll try,” she says in response, her words strained to the point of cracking.

“That’s all I can ask for. Thank you.”

The man walks away.

Byleth’s heart squeezes in her chest, pained and hurting. _Speak to Claude…_ Yes, maybe she would.

Tomorrow.

She would speak to him tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *looks at plot overview*
> 
> *looks at how many days I have left before this game actually releases*
> 
> *laughs nervously*
> 
> So, with the addition of this chapter, I've quickly come to the realization I _probably_ won't be able to complete this fanfiction before the game releases. I have six chapters planned out so far, of which only three are done with as of this chapter. And I have less than two weeks to complete this story which, ah, just isn't going to be realistic for me because I'm a slow writer and the next few chapters have A LOT of ideas packed into them.
> 
> That said, since I don't know whether I'll be able to finish chapter 4 before the game releases, I wanted to make mention of the future of this fanfic series. _Doom Desire_ \- and by extension, _Swansong_ and _duck, duck, golden goose_ \- has gotten a lot of support and I'm truly grateful for that. It makes me happy to see that my ideas and my writing are well-liked and I feel bad that I have to end this story prematurely due to it becoming obsolete by the time the game comes out.
> 
> So, I have a few options for how this story will go from here in terms of this story's deadline being July 25th, the day before the actual game releases: 
> 
> 1\. **Discontinue this series as of this chapter and post an "Extra" chapter summing up everything I had in mind for this story**. This includes: plot summaries for the chapters I have so far, notes of future stuff I wanted to explore/talk about, as well as some Claude x Byleth scenes that would happen in the future of this fanfic as well as some that I scrapped from the previous two chapters.
> 
> __
> 
> 2\. **Keep working on future chapters in the hopes of being able to get up chapter 4+ and discontinue the series the day before the game releases**. I'd also release the plot summary on July 25th just so y'all can get an idea of where I was heading with this story before canon entirely wrecks the foundation of it.
> 
> __
> 
> 3\. Same as above **except I restart this series in a more canonical narrative**. Aka, once the game comes out and I’ve managed to play through the entirety of it, I’m open to creating a spiritual sequel to Doom Desire that explores Claude x Byleth with a focus on canonical events.
> 
> __
> 
> And when I say “focus on canonical events” I really mean following the game’s plot while also deviating from it to keep things fresh and interesting. This will likely mean more focus on F!Byleth x Claude than the game provides as well as the possible addition of M!Byleth into the narrative. I'll probably still write a spiritual successor to this fanfiction regardless ~~unless the game somehow makes me change my opinion on this pairing but haha I don't see that happening any time soon~~
> 
> What I do with the _Doom Desire_ series is up to you guys. This fanfic will have to be discontinued by the time the game releases but since I know a lot of people have loved this fanfic and want to see where it goes I didn't want to leave you hanging. So, these are the three options I have in mind and just wanted to put up there since I know it's not going to be realistic for me to finish this fanfic in a timely fashion. 


	4. Kronya (unfinished chapter)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Byleth tries her hardest. Really, she does.
> 
> (unfinished WIP)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I suspected, I ran out of both free time and energy to finish this chapter on time. So, as this is now, it's nothing more than a WIP that's kind of jumbled because I occasionally like to jump around when I write chapters like this so sorry in advance for the lack of coherency this might have. If you want a proper explanation/summary of this chapter, it might be better to check out the next chapter and then come back to this in order to understand what's going down for some parts lol

* * *

As it turns out, talking to Claude is harder than she could imagine.

Byleth had resolved herself to talk to him the next morning after her talk with Ignatz. She had told herself she would confront him, would look at him straight in the eyes and ask him about just what, _exactly_ , his problem was.

Oh, if only things were that simple.

She had tried. Really, she had tried. Ever since she’d woken up, she’d spent her whole day trying. And every day after that, too. But, Claude was as elusive as he was cold. Whenever she approached him, he always had some sort of distraction to accompany him. When he wasn’t talking to one of his fellow nobles, he was holing himself up in his room or ignoring her calls for a talk. No matter what she did, no matter what she said or how she tried, she couldn’t get him to stop and talk to her.

She could tell he was ignoring her. Claude wasn’t one for giving the cold shoulder: he relished in conversation and took any chance he could to manipulate those within his reach. His words were his weapon. He used them to mediate and solve conflicts, always working to better the world around him.

So, for him to avoid any attempt at a conversation, for him _to_ _so blatantly turn his back on her_ , it meant that he wasn’t even willing to try and listen to her. He wouldn’t hear her side, wouldn’t bother to stop and pause and wait for her to speak her part.

And that…that _infuriated_ her.

Every time he turned his back on her, she couldn’t help but feel a flash of anger overtake her. She was trying – by the Goddess, she was trying! – but it was never enough for him, was it? No matter how many times she called his name or caught his eye, he insisted on turning his back to her and continuing on with his life as if she never existed.

How dare he, how _dare_ he. She was making an effort to fix whatever she broke, she was reaching out and asking him to reciprocate! For days, _days_ , she’d been trying to talk to him and yet…and yet-!

And yet he was treating her like a _nuisance_.

Byleth places her head against a concrete wall and digs her nails into its surface.

There is only so much she can take of being ignored. There’s only so much she can take of reaching out to someone she cares about only to be shot down every time because of it.

So, firming her resolve, Byleth makes a decision: if she can’t get Claude to listen to her, she’ll _force_ him to listen to her.

* * *

Byleth plots. She plots and she plots and she plots. Her days as a teenage professor are coming back to her already, allowing her to gather her thoughts and think of a way to achieve her goal.

Plan.

She needs a plan.

To get Claude to listen to her, she needs to have him pay attention to her. In order for him to pay attention to her, she needs to do something of worth. Claude is the leader of an alliance and, if she stakes her place in his cabinet as an important member of society, there’s no way he can deny her request for a talk.

So, with that thought in mind, she talks to the nobles of Claude’s alliance: her former students. She exchanges conversations with Raphael and Marianne and Ignatz and Lysithea and Hilda and Leonie and Lorenz, gleaning what she can from them in order to craft her plan.

And, when her plan is completed, she moves into her next phase: achieving the goal she’s set out to accomplish.

* * *

First, she starts with Raphael. In her time spent away from the monastery, the burly man has become the head of palace security. He rules the grounds with a heavy fist, commanding soldiers to and fro in order to assure the safety of Claude and the others.

It is with him that Byleth starts. She asks him a simple request – “May I help you in your duties?” – and he shakes his head.

“Sorry, teacher,” the man says in a voice deeper than she last remembers it. “As much as I am humbled by your offer, I’m afraid I can’t allow you to lead the soldiers of this palace. They are a tough lot and they are loyal to me and His Lordship. They would not think to listen to you.”

Byleth nods her head with a sigh, not at all surprised but still feeling the sting of disappointment. She accepts Raphael’s words with an apology (that he quickly denies, of course, still being the polite man that he was in his youth) and hurries off to her next target in mind.

* * *

She moves on to Marianne and Ignatz.

In her time away from Fodlan, the two have become teachers, each teaching history and politics and battle tactics to a group of wide-eyed soldiers. Byleth can tell by the amiable youthfulness on their faces that these soldiers have not yet seen battle, stars in their eyes as they follow Ignatz’s every move and Marianne’s every spark of magic.

* * *

Next on her list is Lysithea and Hilda.

Lysithea and Hilda, ever the wonder duo of student prodigy and student slacker, greet her with open arms when she comes to meet them. They stand in a conference room full of men and women Byleth does not recognize, instructing each and every person in attendance with words that remind Byleth of battle terminology. Topics like guerilla warfare, feigned withdrawals, and mentions of army sizes pass through lips full of thought, enveloping Byleth in a haze as she approaches.

“Teacher,” Hilda greets. “Are you here to check out our cool strategies?”

Byleth blinks. “I wanted to ask you something.”

“Go ahead.” Lysithea says. “Ask anything you like of us and we’ll provide an answer as best we can.”

“Well, I was wondering…if maybe I can try and help you two with your duties?”

The two girls look between each other. “I suppose,” Hilda drawls. “But feel free to back out whenever you like. This stuff can get pretty dense sometimes.”

Lysithea rolls her eyes. “Says the one who has to ask me what attrition warfare is every time I dare to mention it.”

“Aww, don’t deny it. You love explaining that kind of stuff to me though.” Hilda winks at the white-haired girl and Lysithea flushes.

“R-Regardless,” Lysithea turns to her. “We’re more than happy to have you on our strategy council if you can keep up. We always need a head full of fresh ideas to help with the cause.”

Byleth nods

* * *

After Lysithea and Hilda comes Leonie.

Leonie, as it turns out, has long since finished off her debt with her village and has now become the head of Leicester’s merchant businesses. Having long since abandoned her dreams of becoming a mercenary in favor of helping out with the war effort, she has since become like something akin to Leicester’s head accountant.

When Byleth walks into her room – a wide, expansive place filled to the brim with stacks of paper – she finds Leonie digging her fingers into the keypad of her calculator, muttering a whole string of curse words as she does so.

“No, no, _no!_ Why am I off by _six measly cents?_ ” Leonie growls, hands rubbing through her hair and nails scratching into her scalp. “Who in the _Goddess’s name_ forgot their _six cents_ of change in their records?”

Byleth smiles a little at that. It seems Leonie is still as stingy as she remembers her to be, always counting things down to the last penny and always doing her best to keep her records as accurate as ever. It makes Byleth feel a little nostalgic.

* * *

The last person on her list is Lorenz.

“I want to be of use to Claude,” she tells the man.

“If you want to help our Lordship,” Lorenz’s gaze flicks over her, starting from her feet to the tip of her head. Byleth gets the strangest feeling she’s being appraised. “Then become his consort.”

She blinks. Once. Twice. Thrice.

“ _What_.”

Lorenz clicks his tongue at her. “Our dear leader is stressed beyond belief,” the man says, his voice as casual as can be on the subject at hand. “Buried in piles of paperwork and forced to attend brutal meetings, it’s no wonder our leader has been run ragged by his workaholic nature.”

“What does this have to do with being a _consort_.”

The man’s eyes narrow, cold and blistering. She shivers. It’s unlike Lorenz to look this apathetic. “Well, in order to resolve that little issue of his, we of the alliance have been urging his lordship to take on a partner to help him de-stress. Of course, he won’t just take anyone to bed but, if it were you, maybe he’ll finally change his stance.”

“This is _asinine_.”

“What’s wrong? You said you wanted to help Claude. And, if you were true to your words, this would be the best option to help him. Let him take you. At least then you’ll actually be of use.”

The man looms over her, looking at her with the same distance as everyone else in this gods-forsaken world.

“I refuse,” Byleth curls her lips. “I didn’t come to the future to be _wed_ or put to _bed_.”

* * *

Byleth passes out.

* * *

A heartbeat.

Byleth feels her heart thumping her chest, calm and soothing. She listens to it for a bit, listens to its soft rhythm as her consciousness stirs, and then she opens her eyes and feels so many things thrumming through her.

Claude. The monster. Him, protecting her in his arms. His strange, strange words of “Are you alright? Are you okay? Don’t leave me!” as he held her close. The way her heart fluttered in her chest as she bled to death.

She rubs at her eyes, both hands reaching up to do so, when she finds that her left arm meets some resistance.

Byleth startles, sitting up and noticing with alarm how Claude is sitting at her bed side. He is sleeping at her side, one arm clasped around her own as he nestles closer.

However, that’s not what stuns her.

No, what stuns her is the way Claude _looks_. Draped in black and gold is not the man she remembers meeting but, rather, the younger version of him. And he still looks the same as she recalls him looking, black hair still a mess and his signature braid pressed against his cheek.

Relief and confusion overtake her all at once as she looks at her surroundings. Unlike the room of white that was given to her within the Leicester Palace walls, this room was that of her own back at the monastery. The walls are a dark brown color, her floor is a muted gray, and she can see that her stuffed animal collection is still in its place on her countertop.

_I’m…back at the Garreg Mach Monastery?_

Byleth frowns. First, she’d been sent five years into the future. Now, it almost seems like she’s been sent back somehow. Unless.

Unless everything beforehand was just a dream?

Was it? Was Byleth’s remembrance of her students aged and withered all in her imagination?

She looks at Claude. The boy is sleeping peacefully beside her, still as young as she remembers him being. Somewhat confused, Byleth raises a hand to Claud’es head and rustles his hair. The boy mumbles something, rubbing at his face and blinking sleep from his eyes as he stares at her.

“Teach?” His voice comes as a whisper. Then, with a flourish of worry in his tone, he asks: “Teach, are you okay?”

She looks at him. “Why wouldn’t I be?” She says with a lilt of teasing in her voice.

“I don’t know,” he reaches up a hand to her face. “You hit your head pretty bad.”

Byleth tilts her head, realizing that Claude is touching a bandage wrapped around her forehead. “I did?”

He frowns at her. “Do you…not remember?” She shakes her head and he leaps into an explanation. “You took us to Chrom’s Sanctuary to fight a monster. Except…you took a blow meant for me.” His lips wobble. “I’m sorry, Teach. I should’ve been more careful!”

Byleth can hear the pang of guilt in his voice and she brings him into a hug. “I’ts fine,” she tells him, “even if I don’t remember it, the thing that matters most is that I’m alive.”

Yet, Byleth can’t help but think of the strange delusions she’s witnessed: an older Claude who refuses to talk to her, her former students grown up and fighting a war against Adrestia and Faerghus, Mercedes dead and gone…but those were just hallucinations, weren’t they?

That had to be it. If she’d hit her head, the things she saw (or thought she saw) must be things only borne from the trauma of her mind.

And Claude…the cold Claude of her imagination was nothing but a thankful falsity.

Some part of Byleth feels relieved at the thought of that.

* * *

Two Claudes.

There are two Claudes.

One Claude presents himself as the Claude von Reigan that she’s known for all the time she’s spent at the monastery. He is smiling at her, his hand reaching out for her as if to welcome her into his arms.

The second presents himself as the adult self of Claude, eyes narrowing as he looks over her with cold eyes. His arms are at his side, hands curling into tight fists as he stares straight at her.

She looks between them, conflicted.

Her heart yearns for the Claude who holds his hand out to her. She wants to reject the adult version of him, wants to reject the man who curls his lips at her and who has denied her her right to an explanation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter will contain the outlined plot summary that I had going for this fanfic + bonus scenes that I wrote for/cut out
> 
> if you got here just after i finished posting this and they're not out right now, the next chapter will be up in just a moment :D


	5. Plot Summary (+ Bonus Scenes and announcement)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plot summary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor Spoiler Warning for the opening cinematic of Fire Emblem Three Houses. If you've already watched it then there's probably nothing to fear from here because some things take inspiration from that cutscene.

**Chapter 4:**

-“Tomorrow” doesn’t work out so well for Byleth. She tries to talk to Claude but he literally gives her the cold shoulder. He avoids her and always cuts their conversations short, refusing to talk to her. This hurts Byleth deeply to the point she becomes angry about it.

-To try and cope, she tries out various hobbies to prove her worth to him. She comes to the realization that if he won't talk to her than she’ll force him to talk to her by becoming a part of his military force. She tries to join Lysithea on a tactical meeting but finds she can’t keep up with the jargon they’re spewing and has to back out.

-She tries teaching the soldiers alongside Ignatz and Marianne on battle and magic tactics but find that they already know everything she knows and so isn’t much of a teacher anymore.

-Her last resort is Lorenz. She goes to him expecting he’ll know a good solution. Instead, he’s basically just “You could become our lord’s consort *wink* *wink*. Help him de-stress in bed and you’ll be doing us a favor.” Byleth is squinting _real hard_ at him for this.

-Byleth stumbles upon Hilda and overhears that they are planning an attack on Faergus. Desperate to vent and after hearing Claude is coming on the trip, she offers up her services to help the attack. Claude, who is at that meeting, tells her to “fuck off” (not in those exact words, ofc). Angry at him, she insists on joining anyways and Hilda agrees, threatening to bring Byleth in secret if he doesn’t allow her to come. Claude relents but is visibly fuming.

-Fast forward to day of Faergus attacks and Claude still ignores Byleth as usual. Things happen, attack begins. Byleth gets split from her group and is isolated in a forest with ten soldiers to her. She is outnumbered and exhausted. However, before she can be killed, the monster from the woods protects her and/or attacks the other soldiers (Byleth isn’t sure which it’s doing).

-Byleth is exhausted. The monster turns to her. She is fucked. Still, she uses the power of her crest to ward it off if only a little. Instead, the monster comes closer. It stares at her, her crest being the only thing to shield her from it, when the crest disappears and Byleth sees a flash of a cracked crest on the creature. The thing seems very docile around her, losing its sudden bloodlust, before telling her “save me” in a creepy voice.

-Claude jumps in to protect Byleth and drives the thing away by scaring it. He then acts very worried about Byleth, asking her if she’s hurt anywhere and overall being very fussy and concerned. She notices he’s acting more like the old him and it makes her happy to the point she tells him he’s acting like himself. He seems not to notice, being more intimate with her than he would when he was a student by hugging her close and being all silent about why he’s doing so. Byleth passes out and later thinks what he said was her imagination.

-Byleth wakes up in a hospital room. Only, it’s a different room from before and _younger_ Claude is at her side. He greets her, telling her that she’s waken up from a coma and that everything is going to be alright. He acts exactly the same as the Claude she knows and when she explains seeing his future self he claims she was experiencing a dream. He also states that everyone in the monastery has been waiting to see her swift recovery and that, now that she’s awake, she should come with him. Byleth protests that she doesn’t feel completely fine but Claude says it’s just an after-effect of the magic used to heal her as Lysithea is still learning but is their only healer on hand at the monastery (which is accurate sounding to Byleth enough for her to trust him).

Kronya brings Byleth into a courtyard that’s enchanted to appear like the monastery’s rose gardens. Kronya invites her to talk and gets semi flirty with Byleth, getting close and intimately touching her. However, an arrow separates Byleth and Kronya and Adult Claude steps into the mirage to claim shenanigans. He forces Byleth to choose between him and his past self and, while Byleth longs for Claude’s past self, she realizes she can’t be stuck in the past forever as it’s not her reality any more and chooses Claude’s adult self.

Kronya dissipates to reveal her true form, disgusted with Claude for being so whipped by Byleth. She reveals that, yeah, she wants to murder Byleth because Byleth’s flame crest purifies monsters and oh boi that’d put a whole kink in her plans but now that she’s been discovered guess she’s just gotta KILL EVERYONE

-She attacks Byleth but Byleth fends her off with Claude’s help. Frustrated and her magic disappearing fast, Kronya flees with the promise of revenge.

-Claude gets frustrated with Byleth and picks a fight with her for trusting Kronya so easily. He reveals that he resents Byleth for coming back when she’s left him alone for five years for so long thinking she was dead. Byleth resents him for treating her horribly ever since she’s returned and states she doesn’t have any control over what has happened. They fight. Angry at him and bitter at her situation, Byleth goes to her room and grounds herself.

-Sothis reappears yay. She says that she sensed Kronya’s magic and something about it conflicted with her powers and awoke her. She is caught up on the situation and admits she has no clue what’s going on either.

-Sothis then teases her about Claude. Byleth is not happy with that.

**Chapter 5:**

-Claude comes to see Byleth! Amazing! Except he wants to speak to her about Kronya’s words and literally nothing else. Byleth is still steaming a little but she lets him talk. They discuss Kronya’s words and the fact that Byleth’s crest can “purify monsters”. Claude wants to know what Byleth can do exactly with her crest. She has not a fucking clue. Claude gets all huffy about her lack of knowledge. He leaves.

-At some point, Byleth remembers the way her crest caused the bloodthirsty monster in the woods to become relatively docile and helpful. She wonders if there’s a connection between the monster and her crest and purification. She then thinks about how Ignatz said they found Mercedes body but were only able to identify her via her clothes. She also remembers how Kronya and a monster were found at the scenes. She wonders if demons aren’t actually _summoned_ by sacrificing humans but _made_ from them.

-She confronts Ignatz and asks her to take her to the place where Mercedes died (which is, again, by the Adrestian border but it’s also next to where the monastery used to be before it was torn down). When asked why she says that Mercedes might not be dead after all. Ignatz is ??? about this because “uhhh, Byleth, when people die they are dead” but she seems so serious he can’t help but want to believe in her. Byleth explains herself further to convince him and they leave the monastery in secret.

-Ignatz takes Byleth on a trip down to Mercede’s spot of death via his pegasus (Named Mercy who was Mercedes’s originally). They do this in secret because lol @ Claude ofc. Ignatz also doesn’t want to lose a chance at seeing Mercedes again since he believes in his teacher realizes things don’t add up quite yet.

-They go to the place – a clearing surrounded by forest – and are ambushed by Edelgard and Kronya and a small army who wounds Ignatz’s pegasus to the point it can’t fly.

-Kronya reveals she knew Byleth would catch on and so she had to do something about her. She tells Edelgard that Byleth is the reason behind Linhardt’s and Petra’s disappearances, stating that the Byleth before them is an imposter created by Leicester in order to trick Claude and work behind the scenes to pull the strings of everyone’s murders.

-It is revealed that Mercedes, Felix, Petra, and Linhardt (who married to Petra and insisted on coming along) were peace missionaries from each of the nations who were to meet up at the grounds of the monastery and discuss terms and conditions of furthering peace between the nations. However, Mercedes was murdered before she could get there and the other three disappeared into thin air although their bodies were “found” to be at the borders between other countries not their own.

-This is affirmed by Dimitri who comes onto the scene as well. At his side is Solon, a rogue mage who works explicitly for the king. Dimitri reveals that he is tired of the Adrestian Empire trampling the weak and notes a deep hatred for Edelgard (something that shocks Byleth considering the two were kissing buddies in their youth).

-Edelgard suggests his sense of justice is twisted, to which Dimitri calls her a hypocrite because she’s employed Kronya – a known criminal in his territory – to fight at her side.

-Dimitri then states that he believes Byleth is the cause of Felix’s death and believes the words of Solon who, like Kronya, seems to have pinned the cause on Byleth. Neither side will listen to Byleth when she tells them they’re being tricked and Solon and Kronya both make convincing shows to make the leaders choose them over her.

-Both Dimitri and Edelgard promise to kill her for her crimes, stating her to be a mockery of the person they knew and cherished. They also can’t believe Claude would be fooled by her, stating that he’ll be reassured when she dies because surely she is causing him misery.

-“Fuck you too you two”

-Claude shows up with his army in tow because apparently Leicester Alliance has enough pegasi to completely transport a lot of people dfjhfdjfjdh

-Class reunion occurs between all three house leaders and Byleth is at the center.

-Claude is defending Byleth against Edelgard and Dimitri, stating that she’s the real deal. Both leaders are disgusted at how blinded he is and states that he was always was like “an obedient little dog” to Byleth.

-Byleth defends Claude’s honor, stating that the two have gone too far in their mocking. They both agree that they’re not being tricked and that it’s Edelgard and Dimitri who are being lied to. Enraged, the two leaders attack.

-Claude and her are on the same page now, readying their weapons and Byleth is reminded of how this is like the class battle royales of old. She expects him to cover her back and he expects her to lead the charge, in other words.

-All three armies converge and Byleth helps to lead the Golden Deer.

**Chapter 6:**

-The battle starts and it’s a bloodshed. I’m too lazy to describe it here but it’s bad.

-Things happen.

-Ignatz is badly wounded and that’s when things go to shit. One of the demons joins the battle, going ballistic and protecting Ignatz. It is uncontrollable and begins slaughtering members of Faergus and the Adrestian Empire. It leaves those dressed in gold untouched. Byleth recognizes the demon as Mercedes and tries to get close to it.

-Edelgard and Dimitri get in her way. Both of them are furious at her for having killed some of their closest friends. Byleth is trying to get to Mercedes to save her while also persuading Edelgard and Dimitri they’ve been tricked by Kronya and probably Solon. They don’t listen, of course, and continue fighting against her.

-At one point, Byleth majorly injures Dimitri. This causes another demon to join the fray, apparently drawn to the scent of blood and chasing gold and red soldiers. The beast wounds Edelgard which causes two more demons to appear afterwards and attack those of blue and gold.

-In other words: Felix, Petra and Linhardt. Granted, Linhardt is rapidly losing his humanity and is killing indiscriminately.

-Byleth gets to Mercedes as a demon and uses her crest to calm the beast down as she approaches an injured Ignatz. The man is in disbelief and calls out to the demon. The demon responds by nuzzling him, showing him that it might be Mercedes after all.

-Byleth asks Claude (who has come to her side after the commotion after seeing how badly the two leaders ganged up on her while he was stuck shooting arrows from a distance to support her) to clear the area as best he can. He agrees and it is done.

-Then, Byleth approaches Mercedes and manifests her crest. The demon shrinks at the sight of it, seemingly in pain, but does not flee. Fire spreads through its body, burning away its shell to reveal Mercedes trapped in its remains (though unharmed from the fire).

-Mercedes falls in Ignatz’s arms and wakes up to see him and Byleth. She warns Byleth of how she was only lucid due to Byleth’s crest and that, while the others are likely lucid and protecting their friends, they will lose their humanity and attack people without care. Byleth, realizing Mercedes wants her to save the others, leaves her in Ignatz’s care. She watches them briefly as they act lovey-dovey and is surprised when Claude comes to her side, musing: “Three years of thinking her dead and grieving and yet there she is, in his arms at long last. It must be wonderful to reunite like that.”

-Byleth is ??? but agrees with the sentiment, not realizing he’s indirectly implying their own situation. He offers to help her, knowing the power of her crest and knowing what she plans to do with it. Hilda, Lysithea, + all her other former students agree to help, knowing saving those trapped in demon forms will put an end to the fight.

-They get to Linhardt who Edelgard is fighting off to protect her people. Byleth reaches her side and Edelgard tries to drive her away. Byleth promises she can help and tells her to look at the battlefield and how there are only three beasts left out of four. Edelgard is under the assumption that Byleth is suggesting she has managed to defeat one of the demons. Byleth says she has (though doesn’t say how) and Edelgard states that as long as she can fell the beast before it causes any more harm than she’s fine with Byleth doing what she can.

-Byleth calls her out on trusting her so easily, referencing Edelgard’s want to disregard and distrust her. Edelgard says she still doesn’t trust Byleth but anything is better than nothing at saving her people.

-Byleth purifies Linhardt. Seeing Linhardt appear from the demon, Edelgard starts to realize she’s been misled by Kronya. She changes her mind and helps Byleth aid the demon who is attacking red and gold soldiers. Claude gets a little miffed at Edelgard, chewing her out for not believing in Byleth. They bicker quite a bit, tensions easing between them temporarily, until Edelgard shuts him up by hinting on his big fat crush on Byleth.

-Byleth saves Petra and tries to go for Felix but is interrupted by Kronya. Edelgard takes her on and Byleth and Claude continue to Dimitri

-Dimitri’s just straight up ignoring whatever Byleth tries to say to stop him from attacking the demon. Claude has to lure the man away, putting himself in danger to do so. He tells Byleth that Felix will probably be able to rationalize with Dimitri when he’s up and going.

-Byleth is worried about him and distracted when trying to purify Felix. It leads to her being badly injured until she uses her Divine Pulse to resurrect. She focuses, saving Felix but Claude is fatally wounded in the process. She restarts again, knowing that her crest is weakening and she can only try one more time with no failures. She saves Claude from the fatal blow but in the process Felix ends up driving all three of them – her, Dimitri and Claude – apart. Byleth takes the chance to purify him.

-Manages to save Felix and all that. Dimitri is beyond relieved at having his closest friend back in his life and, realizing he’s been fooled, turns on Solon. However, he’s yet again been tricked as he uses his crest to its fullest power. Felix recognizes what’s going on and tries to stop Dimitri but is too late.

-Dimitri’s crest consumes him and he turns into a dragon-like demon. As it turns out, so too does Edelgard. Felix explains that extreme overuse of one’s crests turns a human into a nightmarish demon. He reveals that Mercedes, himself, and the other two were transformed by force after they used up their crests’ power to fight Solon and Kronya. He also reveals that the four peace missionaries witnessed their plan to resurrect the ultimate demon: their so-called Goddess herself. To silence him and the others, they were transformed into demons that only had brief moments of lucidity and otherwise lost their humanity.

-Felix asks her to help the two leaders. Byleth is exhausted however, and can’t use her time powers to revert time to stop them from transforming. She also can’t purify them as it seems the same power she uses to purify comes from the Divine Pulse.

-At this point, Sothis manifests in the physical realm, allowing for Claude + co. to see her. Sothis states that Felix’s explanation has made her remember something important and she begins to glow.

-Sothis transforms into a dragon of light, surprising everyone even more. She has Byleth ride her, stating that she needs her vessel close to her in order to maintain a physical form outside of the celestial plane. She also transforms Byleth’s crest into the physical form of an emblem, the Sword of the Creator bearing her crest on its blade in a holographic-like way.

-Sothis and Byleth talk. Sothis reveals herself as a forgotten legend: the white dragon that the Goddess supposedly used to stop evil from plaguing the world. However, she states that the white dragon – a la herself – was forced into a mortal vessel (all the “heroes” of the Goddess) and, in order not to die and succeed to the celestial plane peacefully, she had to protect her vessels. This made it so that she was essentially blackmailed with the life of her vessel (and therefore, herself) if she didn’t comply into doing the Goddess’s bidding.

-However, in a twist of fate, Nemesis – a man who watched as the Goddess performed cruelty upon people and dragons alike – managed to save Sothis. He cleaved her free of the Goddess’s influence. However, because she would die if she wasn’t attached to her vessel, he instead put her inside one of his daughters/sons. He also forcibly put her asleep so the Goddess couldn’t find her and resurrect her. The reason why Sothis wears his crest is due to his powers making a mark on her as a result of him using them on her. She states that she is grateful for his actions, now that she remembers him after finally waking up only to have no memories of the incidence.

-Sothis reveals Byleth is Nemesis’s descendant and that the hero killed by him was Seiros’s mother. This is what caused Seiros to chase after Nemesis and kill him – especially since the Goddess manipulated the situation to have Seiros murder “poor, evil Nemesis”. Sothis also remarks that she, as the White Dragon, must have passed into legend as the Goddess feared her returning and being out of the Goddess’s control.

-Sothis also tells Byleth that the Goddess is not an evil person and was, in fact, benevolent and kind as the stories tell her to be. However, due to the influence of her own time-wielding powers, she decayed, having witnessed many horrible things that happened before and after and being unable to interfere in affairs directly due to being a deity from the Celestial Plane. She then states that the Goddess must have used her powers when she was lucid to send Byleth to the future in order to help purify the Goddess’s future self, perhaps suspecting that this spiral of events was coming.

-When asked why her, why this time period, why now, Sothis responds that there were Ten Heroes for a reason and she suspects that since Byleth + the other crest-wielders were in relative vicinity to each other now (a la her, Claude, Edelgard, Dimitri, etc.), that power could be combined to purify the Goddess.

-Interspersed between these points of dialogue are scenes of Sothis battling dragon!Dimitri and dragon!Edelgard. Sothis manages to hold her own and Byleth helps by using the Sword of the Creator/the Fire Emblem to purify them over time.

-Purification is a success and all three house leaders gather around an exhausted Byleth and Sothis. Byleth manages to carry Sothis in her arms, protecting her as she leans on Claude’s shoulder when he comes to her side.

-Kronya and Solon appear, reaffirming their plan to resurrect the Goddess and unleash demons – _true_ demons, ones the size of Edelgard and Dimitri’s own forms – upon the world. They disappear before they can be apprehended, saved by a strange white-haired man that promises to carry out the plans of his Goddess as needed.

-Battle ends, everyone licks their wounds. The three leaders agree to a peace treaty. Dimitri talks with Mercedes to assure she is alright and then is seen with Felix. Edelgard is talking and apologizing to Lindhardt and Mercedes while Claude welcomes Mercedes back into his care.

-skip to when all of the Golden Deer are at the Leicester Palace celebrating. This chapter acts as a call-back to the first chapter with the party being in celebration of ending a war and Byleth’s (and Sothis’s) heroics. Edelgard and Dimitri and the Black Eagles and Blue Lions students are also in attendance, Felix and Petra and Linhardt expressing their gratitude to Byleth.

-At some point, Byleth is pulled aside by Claude. He apologizes to her for treating her badly and confesses that he was afraid of letting her get too close only to disappear again. He also states that he knew it was her from the beginning but was in denial of it since she had been declared dead for so long and it felt cruel for her to return when he had no hope of seeing her again.

-He then loses his façade of hatred and resentment, hugging her tightly and almost confessing that he loves her. Claude goes to acting like his old self, teasing her and bumping shoulders with her, and she realizes with great surprise how much she’s missing him. This makes Byleth so happy to the point she hugs him tight and comes to the quick realization that she loves him. She doesn’t state this out loud but comes to realize her feelings are mutual anyways. This is the closest thing I could come to in terms of a confession because I inevitably didn't think this out well enough to properly develop the relationship and I thought I had enough free time to do a part 2 which is a big LOL @ me for being overly ambitious

-Afterwards, Sothis talks to Byleth inside the palace and warns that “the ones who slither in the dark” are dangerous individuals and are hiding a strange power on par with the Divine Pulse. Yay, foreshadowing for events I don’t want to touch upon because my ideas can only go so far before the game actually releases I’msosorry

**Other things to note:**

-Literally everyone in the Leicester Alliance ships Claude and Byleth together and they don’t condone his bad behavior towards her. Many attempts are made to get Claude to warm up to Byleth and for Byleth to get together with Claude.

-Claude is angry and resentful of Byleth having left him for five years in pain and misery. It’s literally gotten to the point where he’s refused to move on from her “death” and refuses to see other people. To cope, Claude has become a workaholic and is stressed out a lot. And when Byleth comes back into his life he doesn’t know how to handle his feelings for her with the realization she’s abandoned him for five years on end. Even when hearing she didn’t choose to skip five years time on her own volition he still chooses to think badly of her.

-Claude has dreams of meeting with Byleth and is happiest in those dreams.

-It’s mentioned that Kronya has the ability to mimic a person down to everything but their most private of memories. She is also well-researched and surprisingly hard to identify unless she royally fucks up.

-There was a slight possibility of Kronya x Edelgard in this fanfic. Basically, it’d be this really weird dynamic in which Edelgard is still in love with Dimitri and forces Kronya to masquerade as him (because, again, Kronya can mimic her targets real well to the point of being a near-perfect doppelgänger because magic) and somehow Edelgard ends up falling in love with Kronya’s true self instead. Yes, this is a crackship I thought up on the spot and no I don’t actually regret it.

**Scenes I’ve already written and have cut out/was going to put in future chapters:**

  1. [Context: An alternate part of chapter 1 that I cut off because I felt like I couldn’t make it work. If you want to start at chapter 1 and then jump to this the line that starts this piece off is: “Such a lively crowd,” Byleth muses.]



“It would be even more lively if you were around.”

A voice whispers into her ears, soft and lulling. Byleth spins on her heels, eyes wide and mouth left open as a boy pulls back from her face to give her a grin.

“Claude!” She says, ignoring the stutter in her heart as the boy does his courtesy bow before her. “Aren’t you with the others?”

“I was,” the boy states, shrugging, “but I wanted to come and find you. I had a feeling you might be lonely.”

She rolls her eyes at him, earning herself a snicker in response. “I take it the others are already waiting?”

“Mm, yep.” He murmurs an affirmative before continuing on. “We already set everything up hours ago. Now, all we need is _you_ to grace our presence.”

Claude grabs her hand, pulling her forwards as he takes a couple of steps backwards. Byleth can’t help but notice how bright his eyes are, how the light of nearby lanterns illuminates his entire figure and how his fingers are clasped gently around her own.

“Come on, Teach,” the boy says, his voice softening to a near-whisper, “let’s go celebrate together one last time.”

The boy’s face is still smiling, still bright and cheery. Yet, there’s something almost sad about the way he’s staring at her now, lips straining to retain their shape.

She nods and Claude beams, releasing her hand and skipping forward as he beckons her to his side. Byleth follows his lead, meandering past a rose garden and admiring the scarlet flowers under the light of the moon. She pauses for a moment, reaching out to touch such beautiful things with the tips of her fingers. Velvety softness greets her skin. It’s a pleasant feeling: one she is too easily drawn to.

The allure of the roses is enough for a moment of distraction. Byleth doesn’t notice until its too late the cold thing that slips past her ear and nestles into her hair. Startling, the girl glances up to see Claude leaning in, his fingers tucking an item long and thin into the crook of her right ear.

“Roses are such lovely things,” Claude says. “And they look especially good on you.”

A hand reaches up to observe the rose placed into her hair. Byleth feels the softness of the petals and feels herself flushing at the sentiment. She looks to Claude, watching as he perks up with curiosity.

“Did you know red roses are used to convey devotion and respect?” The girl says. “They fit us well, don’t you think?”

Claude’s face shows a smile but she can see the flicker of disappointment lingering in his features. His lips are strained yet again, eyebrows furrowing just the slightest bit as he begins to show the tiniest sign of a pout.

“Of course, Teach,” he gives an exasperated look, shaking his head.

~~~

  1. [Context: Byleth confronts Claude about his behavior and they ended up in an argument. At this point, Byleth has grown to be less scared and afraid of Claude and is tired of putting up with his bullshit. This dialogue ensues:]



“I _trusted_ you!” Claude snarls, lips peeling back as he slaps away her hand. His voice lowers to a dark whisper. “I trusted you, Teach. I bared my heart for you, I let you in. Then you _left_ me. You left without a word, you left without telling me why. Do you know how much that hurt? Do you know how much it hurts when I decide to trust someone so much that I’m willing to _die_ for them? Do you know what it’s like for that person, that _one_ _person_ who I trusted my life with, to vanish without even so much a consideration of my feelings?”

Anger boils in her. “ _Claude_ ,” Byleth’s voice is harsh, sharp, like a blade cutting away the words the man has left in the air. “You don’t know what it’s like for me. I didn’t choose this. I didn’t choose to disappear. I didn’t choose to appear here five years later in a world I no longer understand. You think I _like_ not knowing what’s going on? You think I _like_ seeing you all at each other’s throats? Do you think I _like_ seeing all of my friends and students fighting each other to the death like this? Do you?”

The man glares at her, opening his mouth to say something, then shutting it tight. Byleth watches him with narrowed eyes, daring him to speak. Resentment burns in his eyes, bright and so much different from the happy gleam he possessed in his youth.

Claude holds up a hand to cover his right eye, fingers gripping into his scalp. His eyes close shut and, left in silence, he releases a shuddering sigh and pulls away. “I don’t care.” He says. “I just don’t care anymore.”

~~~  
3\. [Context: This was to be the scene of Claude’s love confession to Byleth back when I thought I could be able to slot a love confession in this fanfic and make it make sense.]

The fingers clasped around her wrist are shaking. “Don’t you get it?” Claude’s voice cracks. His face looks so pained, so distraught. She wants to reach out and comfort him. To caress him and take away his worries then and there. “Teach, do you…really not get it?”

“I don’t,” she says.

He hangs his head on the wall above her shoulder, breathing teasing the skin of her neck. To feel him so close to her sends something like a shiver down her spine.

“I thought I made it clear to you,” he says, “I thought I made it obvious.”

“Well you’re wrong,” she says, “because I have no clue what you’re going on about.”

“ _Teach_.” His voice cracks. “Teach, I _love_ you. I love you so much it hurts. I want to hold you close and kiss you and protect you. I want you to kiss me back and to tell me everything is alright. I want us to go back to the days where we could be together. I want _you_.”

~~~

4\. [Context: An alternative take on how Byleth meets with her students in chapter 2. Basic context is that Byleth took a nap underneath a tree and woke up to find someone at her throat. Said person is Lysithea who mistook her for Kronya somehow and is now trying to take Byleth to where Claude + co. are]

Instead, she is dragged forwards and escorted towards a brilliant white creature spreading its wings.

“A pegasus?” Byleth stares at with awe, then confusion. “Does that make you a Knight of Seiros?”

Her attacker pushes her forward. “Get on the horse. If you don’t, I’ll cut your throat.”

Byleth peers at the person, hoping to catch a glimpse of their face. However, all she can see are the strands of white hair that drift carelessly in the wind.

The knife presses closer and Byleth has no choice but to board the horse. She climbs up with ease despite her shaking hands, managing to ascend on top of the creature’s saddle with little resistance.

The pegasus, as if sensing the plight of her disturbance, stomping its hooves and shaking its head. Its owner whistles and the animal falls into obedience, wilting as if it’s been reprimanded. Byleth marvels at such a sight. Very few can keep a pegasus in order once its put into distress. Fewer can do it with a simple whistle. In her time at the academy, only Lysithea and Edelgard were capable of such feats, both white-haired girls having mastered the concept only half a year into their training.

“Lysithea…” Byleth murmurs the name of her student without a second thought, thinking of the white-haired girl with some sort of longing.

No doubt she, like the others, would be searching for her. In lieu of Byleth’s disappearance, she’d be taking to the skies and searching the clouds for her teacher gone missing. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise Byleth if the girl was searching for her now.

Something sharp bites into Byleth’s skin and she tenses as she feels the warmth of blood trickle down her throat.

“Don’t speak my name in _her_ voice, bitch,” the stranger snarls. It’s a sound low and feral, like the noise cornered rocs make when they stand on their final gambit. 

Then, the hooded figure’s words click and Byleth cranes her head to look at her attacker. A white-haired lady glares back at her, pink eyes burning with some frightening form of anger.

It is with some shock that Byleth finds the woman resembles the Lysithea she knows. Though this stranger has a face sharpened with age and a scar just below her left eye, there is still a striking resemblance.

“Lys-?”

“ _Shut it_.”

The venom in the woman’s voice silences Byleth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hahahaha now you know why I couldn't pull this off in the span of two weeks
> 
> there were so many ideas here and not enough time to write them all for this fanfic so fjhgfjgfjh I apologize for not being a fast enough writer to finish this fanfic. If I'd started this ahead of time maybe I would've gotten somewhere but alas...
> 
> Also, semi announcement time:
> 
> While I'm discontinuing this series, I'm going to be starting up another multi-chapter fanfic under the same vein of idea as this fanfic. In other words: I'm still going to be writing a slowburn story about moody timeskip Claude, but I'm only going to do so after I've finished the game.
> 
> I've created a tentative summary for my next project but, as I clearly haven't played through the game yet, this is only the bare bones summary as I really haven't a clue of what I truly want to do yet. I only know that I'm going to have a slowburn between Claude x F!Byleth, a moody timeskip Claude, and Golden Deer! F!Byleth and Blue Lions/Black Eagles! M!Byleth. Everything else is as you would expect it to be: subject to change after I play through the game and brainstorm my own (hopefully fresh) take on the story as I play the game.
> 
> If you want to read my tentative summary for this yet-to-be-named fanfic project, here is what I've come up with:
> 
> ~~~
> 
> Golden Deer. Blue Lions. Black Eagles.
> 
> Fraternal twins Belial and Byleth must make a decision: after being made professors by the Church of Seiros, they now need to pick one of the three houses to teach. 
> 
> For Byleth, the choice is easy at first glance: she chooses the Golden Deer, finding herself driven to their easygoing community despite feeling overly cautious towards their silver-tongued leader. For Belial the choice is more difficult. For, while he chooses the house of the Blue Lions, he can’t help but find himself drawn to that of the proud Black Eagles instead.
> 
> But, choosing from the three houses is soon the least of their worries. Between an illusory deity who appears in their minds, their strange abilities to see into the past and travel to the future, as well as their growing concern for a mysterious apocalypse on the horizon, Byleth and Belial will need to work together if they want to save their world. 
> 
> Or, rather, to save what will soon remain of it…
> 
> (F!Byleth x Claude, M!Byleth x Edelgard)
> 
> Other pairings: Hilda/Lysithea, Ignatz/Mercedes, Sylvain/Ingrid, Dimitri/Felix.
> 
> ~~~
> 
> Pairings are subject to change/be added once I play through the game. And, depending on how I feel on certain characters, I might be opting for M!Byleth x Dimitri or M!Byleth x Sothis or M!Byleth x someone else in the actual fanfic. For now, Edelgard is the placeholder love interest but she might stay or might not. Depends. We'll see :P


End file.
